If It Kills Me
by dilaimar
Summary: The war was finaly over and relationships breaks and forms. Years later things may change and people starts to look differently to each other. Harry noticed it first and then Hermione noticed it. FINAL CHAPTER posted!
1. Chapter 1

**a word from me**: Hi everyone, It's been about two years since I last published something because I keep going back and forth on how I want my new story to be. I got frustrated sometimes so I just gave up and stall for like half a year and then got back into writing again and then stalling again and you'll get the idea what happens next.

Then I start to just sit down, knock my head for a little bit and read stories of any kind and listen to songs and I decided on this. The title 'If It Kills Me' is inspired by the song of the same name by Jason Mraz from his album 'We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things'. I love that guy and his concert was way awesome!!! I can gush and talk about him and sing all his songs if I don't move on. I had an idea on how this story would go but I didn't have a title and sometimes I got so frustrated I didn't want to continue writing. Then I suddenly remembered that the story I had in mind sounds like the story that Jason Mraz was telling in 'If It Kills Me'. So if you have not heard that song, give it a try and you'll have an idea of what is it about, which leaves me leaving the summary out in this introduction.

Enjoy this and I hope that I've made improvements from my previous stories. Please leave reviews, good and bad coz I think it'll keep me going.

Main Characters: Harry Potter and Hermione Granger

**Claim: I do not own Harry Potter.**

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It was a cool Sunday evening. The light breeze was blowing Hermione Granger's hair and as it does, she felt the gentle wind caressed her neck and her cheeks. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were sitting beside her as they enjoy their last day in Hogwarts, sitting under the old oak tree by the lake. It was their favourite spot for so many years and they were glad that it was not destroyed during the war that ended exactly a year ago.

"So, what exactly happened between Ginny and you?" Ron asked.

"It's not like you don't know what happened. It's just so different after the war and after what both of us had gone through." Harry replied as he lay down on his back and closed his emerald eyes.

"But…"

Hermione cut Ron off by giving him one of her stares that sent chills down his spine. He did not pursue the matter and finished his sandwich. Harry was not disappointed that his relationship with Ginny had ended. It was not abrupt and they had talked about it.

"_This…"_

"_..is not working."_

_Ginny blushed when Harry completed what she had in mind. _

"_I really care about you Harry and I don't want to hurt you in any way."_

"_I am so glad we decide to talk about this Gin. It's been on my mind since before NEWTs started. I care about you too."_

"_So we will still be friends?"_

"_Of course." They walked towards each other and embraced in a hug._

"_Ron will be unhappy."_

"_I'll talk to him." Harry said and they walked out of the Common Room, Harry feeling much lighter than he had._

He opened his eyes and looked at his bestfriends; Hermione on his right and Ron on his left. Ron suddenly got up from where he was sitting and mumbled something about meeting someone at the Great Hall. Hermione sighed and brought her legs closer to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. Harry got up from his lying position and sat beside Hermione.

"You ok?"

"I'll be fine."

"I'm right here if you need me." Harry said and put his right arm lightly on her shoulders. "You're stronger than this."

"I just can't believe it. I had a plan in mind. I'm going to study to be a Healer and he'll go to Scotland for that internship with the Ministry and it will all be fine. I do understand Harry but I'm just sad that Ron decided that our differences are not making the relationship work."

"Let me ask you Hermione…were you really happy when you were with Ron? Does he make your heart do a triple flip and you can't cast your eyes to anyone else but him?"

"He did."

"That's right…he _did_. People change, you know that."

Harry was right. People changed and it was so evident and unavoidable even if you hide in the corners of the castle. During the war, a number of Slytherins fought for the good side and the relationship between the houses, especially between Slytherin and Gryffindor, were more civil than before. People became friends and sometimes, it felt like everyone belonged together. There were no houses…just Hogwarts.

"Do you feel like that with Ginny?"

"I _did_."

Hermione smiled and placed her head gently on Harry's shoulder. "Thank you."

"You're caring, smart and beautiful. Guys will want to date you. I know I will." Harry said nonchalantly. Hermione giggled and punch Harry's arm.

"That's not funny Harry."

Harry was about to say something when they were interrupted by Ginny.

"I knew I would find both of you here. McGonagall is looking for you. Come on now." She said, gasping for breath like she had been running around the castle searching for Harry and Hermione.

Both Harry and Hermione got up quickly and let Ginny lead the way. They were both wondering what it was all about and Hermione's face was etched with worry. Whatever they were talking about earlier was at the back of their minds and they were both now thinking about why they were called to Professor McGonagall's office.

"I'll wait for you both in the Common Room." Ginny said and Hermione immediately knew that she would want to know the outcome of the meeting with McGonagall.

Harry knocked and opened the slightly ajar door. They were both surprised to see Draco Malfoy sitting on one of the chairs in front of the Professor. Harry curtly nodded at the blond teen and he returned the same nod to Harry. Hermione avoided eye contact at all cost. Things might be better between the houses but it does not necessarily mean that things were better between the trio and Draco Malfoy. His taunts and snide remarks for the past six years could not just be easily forgotten. Draco understood fairly well that he would never be friends with either of them. He knew that what he had done in the past was horrible. He had apologized to all the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry. However, Harry had made it clear that it would never change anything.

Sensing the slight tension in the room, Professor McGonagall immediately spoke "Oh good, now all of you are here. I have good news. I'll be announcing this to the school later before the last dinner of the year in the Great Hall. I thought that I should inform all three of you first before I do that." She paused, looking at the three confused faces.

"All three of you have scored top honours in Hogwarts. The school and the organizations involved are extending full scholarships to each of you to the institute of your choice. You're not obliged to of course because I will like all of you to take this more as an opportunity rather than something that you think you have to do."

"Any institute?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"Any institute of your choice Miss Granger and I have heard that you would like to continue your education in the prestigious Healer Institute of France. I may add that the school has actually expressed an interest in you."

Hermione's brown orbs sparkled in delight and her cheeks reddened at the attention from all the people in the room.

"Now Mr Malfoy, if you're interested the Ministry would like to take you into their wing and guide you towards becoming their next Foreign Affairs representative. I understand that you rather go to the Wizard Education Academy but I hope you'll consider the Ministry."

Draco was about to say something but McGonagall beat him to it. "Well of course if you decided to go to the Academy, it will all be paid for."

Hermione was trying hard not to roll her eyes. _He don't need a scholarship_, she thought. _His inheritance could pay for it_. After Lucius Malfoy died, everyone knew that Draco inherited the family's fortune and estate. Hermione called it dishonest fortune knowing that whatever Lucius had earned was from illegally selling Dart Artifacts to dark wizards around the world.

"Now Harry, you've not told me what you would like to do and I've received numerous letters from every corners of the world, offering scholarships for you to study with their institution. What would you like to do Harry?"

Hermione and Draco turned their head slightly to look at him and Harry felt warmth rising up his neck, hating the attention. "I've not really decided yet."

"Alright then, I do not want to push you. You'll figure it out sooner or later."

She dismissed her three brightest students and Draco walked out hurriedly leaving the other two behind.

"So you're going to take it then?"

"It's the Healer Institute of France Harry…you know I've been talking about it for a year."

"You should." Harry said softly. "You deserve it. I'm very proud of you."

"Thanks. Come on, Ginny is probably waiting for us, dying to know what's up."

That evening, the Professor announced to the whole school about the achievements of Harry, Hermione and Draco and they all received very loud cheers from their houses. They humbly accepted the honours and Harry still had not decided what to do. After dinner, Hermione told Harry and Ron to go ahead without her and made an excuse that she had left her notebook in the library earlier. Her eyes scanned through the crowd for a certain blond and caught him making his way towards the dungeons.

"Draco!" She hollered and he stopped in his tracks, turned around and was surprised to see Hermione jogging towards him.

Slightly panting, Hermione held out her hand and Draco reluctantly took it. "I just wanted to congratulate you…you deserve it."

Draco could see that it probably took a lot of will for Hermione to sincerely mean what she had just said.

"Thanks. Congratulations to you too. So you'll be going to France in September?"

"Yes I will."

"You know, if you'll like I can give you guidebooks on France."

"That would be nice. Thank you."

Draco's lips turned up into a slight smile and turned his back to Hermione to walk back to the dungeons.

"Wait." Hermione exclaimed. Draco's eyebrows shot up in a questioning gaze. "I know about you and Ginny."

Draco's facial expression remains calmed and he smirked. "I'm not surprised."

"You're going to take good care of her aren't you?"

Draco chuckled and Hermione's lips tighten into a straight line. He looked Hermione in the eye, his gaze unfaltering. "Of course…I really like her you know." Draco said in a soft voice and he looked almost embarrassed to have to express his feelings out.

Hermione nodded and start to smile. "Good. Then you can pass your guidebooks to her later." She walked away from Draco.

"Wait! How did you know I was going to meet her later?"

"I have eyes and ears on the back of my head." Hermione said and laughed quietly.

Back in the Common Room, Harry and Ron were playing Wizard's Chess. No one else was around as they all were in their rooms, packing to leave the next day. The fireplace behind Ron was crackling silently and neither had said a word for the past 15 minutes. Ron won the game a few minutes later and he smiled triumphantly.

"That's our last game mate…our last game in this Common Room." Ron said.

At that moment, Hermione walked in and sat on the sofa beside Ron.

"What took you so long?" Ron asked.

"Amelia Evans from Ravenclaw wanted to pass me back my books. So I only head to the library after she passed them to me." Hermione casually said, avoiding their gazes, afraid that she might blush.

"What books?" Ron continued to ask.

"My Susan Sorensen fiction." Hermione replied and showed him the book. The cover of the book that she showed them was dark with a blond vixen, wearing a tight corset top and leather pants with high heel boots. The background was a thick forest with a full moon glowing in the dark sky. Her hair was blowing in the air and she was holding on to a wand.

"Ginny was reading that last summer. Bill gave her the whole series for her birthday." Ron remarked.

"I know, she told me."

The trio talked late into the night, keeping the banter lively and laughing as they reminisced at the times they had in Hogwarts. Occasionally, they fell into a moment of silence, remembering the lives that were lost along their journey to freedom.

Harry was relieved that a burden had somehow removed itself from his shoulders and he could go out again knowing that nothing would stop him. He knew that his friends would be safe, out of harm's way and there was no need to be on guard anymore.

His mind was reeling with thoughts and he had not reveled to his friends yet on what he had decided to do. McGonagall and his friends did not know that he was invited by Puddlemere United and the Chudley Cannons to play for them. He was scheduled for tryout in two weeks time. He would miss all his friends. Hermione would be in France and Ron would be in Scotland. He would remain in England, occasionally traveling around the world for friendly games and offsite training. He started to wonder what was going to happen in the future. He had hoped for nothing but the best and he had gotten just that.


	2. Chapter 2

**a word from me: **Hi everyone. I thank you all for reading my latest story. There are still so many things that I need to improve on but I think it's time i put up Chapter 2. Before I go on, here's a shoutout to all the reviews.

sam: I'm so glad to see that you've read this. Remember the last time I kinda wanted you to read through one chapter of an idea I had in mind. Well this was the story. But back then the idea was so vague it felt empty. Continue on reading and I hope you will enjoy it.

knitchick: Thank you for reading! I hope you'll like chapter 2.

Whoopsydaisy: I really appreciate your feedback and have taken a few things into consideration. However I had to explain on why there was not much explnation on the things/relationship that was evolving in the first chapter. It has been my plan for things to develop slowly with each chapter coz I want readers to keep coming back. And I guess I have to reveal something I don't intend to until the end of this story. That's in the next paragraph.

'If It Kills Me' will solely concentrate on Harry's and Hermione's relationship and how it grows into something more than friendship. I've had received feedback in the past on how I concentrate on too much characters in one story so I decided that this time around I will just focus on Harry and Hermione. The plan was to have a story about Draco's and Ginny's relationship after 'If It Kills Me' and the story line will be incorporated from this story. So whatever you read here will have a link on their story. This story will be on Harry's and Hermione's point of view and the next story would be from Draco's and Ginny's point of view.

So there will not be any explanation on how the relationship between Draco and Ginny evolves because this will be strictly Harry and Hermione. Draco and Ginny will have their turn however I am not sure if there will be any story on Ron.

Let's just continue with this story alright? There will be two original characters that I made up on my own. Please give me constructive feedback and Whoopsydaisy, I'm lookin forward for your feedback. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer**: Harry Potter does not belong to me.

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**Seven years later**

Hermione tied her brown hair up into a ponytail as beads of sweat start to form on her forehead. She had just finished her appointment with Kyle Risis who had got injured while performing his auror duties. The extension of the injury on his arm had been mild but Kyle had saved his own life by making an appointment with Hermione. Had he delayed the appointment, Hermione concluded that it would turn his veins yellow and would burst into pus and in the end, he could die from it.

"It looks like the Crudus spell. Almost like internal bleeding. This could lead to death. See this protruding vein over here?" Hermione asked and pointed to a protruding vein which was at least 5cm long. Kyle nodded.

"I know something that will subside it. But you will have to come back every two days so that I could check on it. Who did this to you?" Hermione asked and start to mutter a spell with her wand.

"You know I can't tell you." Kyle said, his blue eyes glinting mischievously.

"You have to start being careful Kyle. You can't keep on seeing me every week. At this rate, you will have to retire soon. It's taking a toll on your body."

"Well, what if I told you I did this on purpose? That I do want to keep on seeing you every week?"

Hermione suddenly feel warm and turned away from Kyle so that he would not see her blushing. "Well then I'll have to ask the nurses to block you out from my schedule." She teased.

Kyle chuckled and raked his fingers through his dirty blonde hair nervously.

"Oh no, what time is it?" Hermione suddenly asked.

"A quarter to five." Kyle replied.

"I've got to go. He must be waiting for me. You know the way out. Make the appointments before you leave."

Hermione took her bag and rushed out the door before Kyle could say anything. She ran down the stairs, saying bye to some people along the way. As soon as she reached an alley behind St Mungo's she closed her eyes and apparated to the London Quidditch stadium. She landed 200 meters away from the west entrance and made a quick run to the red head that was standing with his arms crossed. He was wearing a long sleeve green sweater and a pair of beige pants. His hair was long, reaching just the tip of his broad shoulders. Hermione braced herself and smiled sweetly at Ron hoping he would not scream at her for being late. She sighed with relief when he did not.

"Come on, it's starting!" He called out and grabbed Hermione's right hand as soon as she reached him. They ran up the steps like they did every few weeks and gave their pass to the attendant. The crowd was already cheering, wildly anticipating the game to start. Ginny and Draco were already there, sitting on the comfortable seats in the VIP box.

"I can't believe Harry invited this git." Ron mumbled and Hermione swatted his left arm. Hermione gave Ginny a hug and shook Draco's hand.

"Where's Lila?" Hermione asked.

"She went to get drinks." Ginny said and a few seconds later Lila Walcott, a tall woman who had dark brown hair which reached her shoulders stood behind Hermione. Hermione gave her a tight hug and they both smiled at each other.

"It's been quite a while huh? I couldn't make it to the last three matches."

"Ron told me you were in Thailand."

"Yes I was." Lila replied, her brown eyes twinkling in delight. "For two weeks then I went to Australia."

"Oh yeah, I heard about the promotion." Hermione said and lightly squeeze Lila's right arm. "Congratulations!"

"Ron couldn't keep his mouth shut huh?" Lila said and eyed Ron who was standing behind Hermione, casually chatting with her sister.

"We both know he can't…and aren't you supposed to show me something?" Hermione could not suppress her excitement.

Lila held out her left hand and the piece of gem almost shined like the sun. The diamond was a princess cut on a platinum band. "Oh Merlin…it's gorgeous." Hermione sighed. "I'm so happy for you."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there to share the news with you guys. On the night that Ron proposed I got an owl from my boss saying that I will have to go to Thailand the next morning. So we only managed to share the news with Mr and Mrs Weasley."

"That's ok. Hearing it from Ron was good enough."

They sat down and waited for a few more minutes before the game started. When a whistle was heard, the crowd erupted into another roar of cheers and claps. It was the game between Puddlemere United and Falmouth Falcons and this game determines who would win the British and Irish Quidditch League.

Puddlemere United players flew out first, their navy-blue robes glittering in the distance. Hermione could see Harry leading the team out. They received such a huge roar of applauses it was impossible to make any conversations during the introduction. Hermione could also see Oliver Wood who had been their keeper for eight years. Harry was their seeker.

He joined Chudley Cannons after he graduated and no one knows why Harry had chosen them over Puddlemere United. Not only had the bright orange robes clashed horribly with Harry's green eyes but the fact that they had won the league cup only once and the last one back in 1892 had made Ginny asked him over and over again why. Ron of course had been so happy when he heard that Harry was playing for the Cannons. It only means that Harry could afford to give him front seat tickets to his favourite team matches. Three years ago, Harry made the move to Puddlemere United after much persuasion from Oliver.

"_Oh you belong there more than the Cannons Harry." Ginny had exclaimed excitedly. "You should have started for them years ago."_

Ron wrote to Harry from Scotland:

_Harry,_

_What do you mean you left the Cannons??? I though you'll be there forever. Did Puddlemere threaten you with more money???_

_Ron._

Hermione had rolled her eyes upon hearing Ron's antics from Harry. She just got back from France after graduating from the Healer Institute when Harry shared the news with her. Whatever Harry did with his life, Hermione had been there to give him her fullest support. They wrote endless letters to each other and during the summer holidays. Hermione made time to go back to England so that she could watch the Quidditch games. She wanted Harry to know that the distance between them would never dampen their friendship. They only had each other and Ron rarely comes home and even front seats to the Cannons could not pull him away from his responsibilities as an intern in Scotland.

The Falmouth Falcons flew in next, their dark grey and white robes billowing in the night air. The Falcons hade made quite an impression by winning the cup last year. Puddlemere was just a mere two points away from them in the league table and it had frustrated Harry a lot. Hermione could still remember that night a year ago.

"_That was really frustrating!" Harry had shouted and threw his backpack on the floor. He plonked himself down on the sofa and closed his eyes, but only for a while. "Did you see how those idiots play? You call them champions?!!! More like hooligans!"_

_Ginny and Hermione looked at each other and they feared the worst. They had seen Harry gone berserk before that night but Puddlemere's lost to the Falcons had made Harry totally angry and out of control. _

_They were in Harry's apartment trying to make sure that he stays safe. Ginny had to leave early as Draco was scheduled to come back from Hungary that night. Hermione just sat there with Harry…in silence. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it slightly. _

"_You ok?" Hermione asked. Harry replied with a very soft yes and he nodded off to sleep placing his head on Hermione's lap._

Hermione later learnt that the Falcons were known for being violent and fierce play and not many people like them. You either love the Falcons or you hate the Falcons. There was no such thing as in between or being neutral.

The game started on a good note and the Falcons had not tried fouling anyone on the other team. Puddlemere scored three goals within the first seven minutes while the Falcons had not managed to score. Harry was circling the stadium, hunting for the Golden Snitch. Steve Wegner, the seeker for the Falcons were on the opposite end of the stadium, doing the same thing. Thirty minutes into the game it was 110 to Puddlemere and 80 to the Falcons.

"It's so low key tonight." Ginny commented. It was as if the players had overheard Ginny's comment because as soon as she had said it, two Chasers from Falmouth Falcons, Lionel Peak and Bob Brighton, fouled all the Puddlemere players that were in their way. The referee had to blow his whistle hard to stop the fight that had occurred in the middle of the pitch. Lionel Peak had "collided" with Puddlemere's Chaser, Michael Lee. Upon seeing the collision Puddlemere's Beaters Jerome Bliss and Harrison Daniels did a Dopplebeater Defence letting the Bludger flying straight towards Lionel Peak's chest.

"That's more like it!" Ron exclaimed and stood up to jeer the Falcons. Ginny and Draco joined in. Hermione looked at Lila and shrugged.

"I can't find the joy in this….that's brutal! I hope Harry will keep calm." Hermione said her face etched with worry and her lips curved into a frown.

"He's the captain. He's got to intervene somehow. Look, there he goes." Lila said and pointed to a guy perched on a broomstick, leaning forward surging to the commotion.

Hermione's heart did a triple flip afraid of what could happen in a matter of seconds. But she did not have to worry. The group finally dispersed and the referee announced a time out of 10 minutes.

"What's going to happen now?" Hermione asked Ron.

"Harry must have called for the time-out. They can't switch players unless they have reserves and I think Puddlemere has none. They will probably get Lee checked. See if he had any broken bones. He had to keep on playing. No other choice." Ron explained.

Ten minutes later, the match resumed and Lee's right arm was in a sling. It does not seem to bother him because he was zooming in and out of the Falcon's way passing the Quaffle to his team mates. Five minutes into the game, a big roar of cheers and chants were heard on the left hand side of the stadium. It looked like Harry had sighted the Snitch. Hermione got up from her seat and cheered with everyone else. She felt the adrenalin rush flowing through her blood and running through her veins.

When he saw what was happening, Wegner made a dive towards where Harry was going. They were on opposite directions. With a sudden surge, Harry made a quick lightning move and soared up high. He held one hand up and the crowd burst into cheers.

"He's caught the snitch." Some one shouted.

"He did it." Another said.

Fans of Puddlemere broke into a loud applause. The men were clapping and whistling and the women were hugging each other. It was Puddlemere's first League cup after a three years dry spell. The final score was 260 to Puddlemere United and 80 to Falmouth Falcons.

All seven players from Puddlemere were now gathered at the centre of the pitch and they were hugging and giving high-fives to each other. Their coach, Winston Short joined in the celebration, basking in the terrific atmosphere. Harry led the way and they flew the circumference of the stadium thanking their fans for the tremendous support they received throughout the season.

The stage was already set up with the silver plated trophy sitting on top a podium. As the team got up on stage, blue and silver streamers and confetti burst in the air like a fireworks display. The Falcons looked unhappy as they stayed in the corner of the stage, refusing to congratulate Puddlemere. They walked off the pitch as soon as Puddlemere got on stage.

Harry took the trophy from Mike Kewell, the chairman of the British and Ireland Quidditch League, and as he held it up to his head, the stadium erupted into cheers louder than before. Hermione and her friends cheered at the top of their lungs, joining in the celebration in the VIP box. People were passing around butterbeers, firewhiskey and champagnes.

"This is thrilling. I can't wait to see Harry and congratulate him." Ginny said excitedly.

"Well we're all invited to the after party. We'll see him there." Hermione said. They made their way slowly out of the VIP box and head down to the place where the party will be held. Harry told them that the after party will be held at the five-star Wizard hotel in downtown London called The Hamilton's. The hotel was opened by Paul Hamilton a rich businessman who was very well-known in the Wizard community. He has opened five hotels around United Kingdom and a few more around the world. His hotel had the best ballrooms and restaurants and suites that only the rich and famous could afford. Hermione had never been there and was looking forward to the after party which will be held in one of the ballrooms.

The five of them walked into the ballroom and Hermione looked around in awe. A sparkling chandelier made from jewels and diamonds glittering was hanging on the ceiling which had intricate peonies sprawled throughout the rectangular ballroom. The floor was carpeted in a rich velvet red and the walls were painted gold. If Hermione had been brought here blindfolded, she would have thought that it was a revamped Gryffindor common room.

"Brilliant." Ron commented when he stood beside Hermione.

"Come on, let's get some drinks." Lila said and the three of them, followed by Draco and Ginny who were right behind headed to the cocktail bar. Almost 30 minutes passed when the door opened to a very loud cheer and Hermione knew that the team had finally arrived. The five of them waited at the bar not wanting to get into the crowd that was forming at the entrance. Chants of 'Go Puddlemere!'s and 'Potter the best Seeker!'s was heard over and over again.

"You reckon I should go ask Michael Lee for his autograph?" Ginny said suddenly interested as the team came into view. She looked flushed and Draco looked like he was going to knock Michael Lee down.

"I didn't know you like him." Draco commented.

"I think I'll just ask Harry to do that for me. What if I start to get nervous and fumble over my words?" Ginny said, more like talking to herself and totally ignoring Draco. Hermione chuckled.

The team went on separate directions and Harry had to stop to accept congratulations on his way towards his friends. He finally reached them and Ron was so hyped up about the win that he does not care about being loud.

"That was way brilliant mate! Just awesome eh?" Ron said enthusiastically.

Hermione noticed that a lot of the ladies in the ballroom come by to say hi to Harry, grazing their perfectly manicured fingers on his chest and arms. She was used to the attention that Harry received and had to stifle her giggles whenever his face starts to contort and Hermione knows that he was getting uncomfortable.

"These women are totally embarrassing themselves aren't they?" Ginny whispered. "Look at that blond one, gazing at Harry like he is a Greek god!"

Lila laughed at her comments and the girl that Ginny was talking about turned her head and stared crossly at Lila obviously angry that she had disturbed her "private" moment with Harry, who upon hearing Lila's laughter excused himself and made his way to them.

Hermione rubbed his left arm lightly when he stood beside her. "I swear this is not my favourite moment. I rather be at home and chill out with you lot then celebrating it here."

"Then let's do that." Ginny said. "I'll go find Draco."

"He's in the gents. I saw him on my way out." Ron said. "What's the plan?"

Fifteen minutes later, Harry had already politely rejected more champagne and excused himself out of the ballroom. Coach Short was giving him a disapproving look but did not stop him from leaving.

They were all in Harry's apartment chatting the night away, drinking Butterbeer and champagne. Harry had opened bags of chips and popcorn. The first one to leave was Draco and Ginny and it was 2AM. Ron and Lila left a few minutes later and it left Hermione and Harry who cleaned up the living room with magic. They plopped themselves on Harry's comfortable couch and soon, Hermione found that it was difficult to keep her eyes open.

"Can I.." Hermione did not get to finish her sentence because Harry knew what she wanted to ask.

"You don't have to ask Hermione. Of course you can crash here. The guest bedroom is yours."

"Thanks Harry." They both stood up and Hermione gave Harry a hug and made her way to the guest room. She lay down on the bed and was fast asleep in seconds.


	3. Chapter 3

**a note from me**: It's been quite a while since the last one. I can't remember what was stopping me from posting a chapter last week. It's probably just laziness or lack of time. I've been coming home late from work and sleeping really early (something that I'm not used to). I must have been really tired.

So here's the third chapter and I realised that I've not really explain what words in italic means. It represents thought or past occurences. Sometime the characters tend to ponder or remember things from the past so I made it italic. There's nothing much to say for this chapter other than there will be some original characters..

Leave reviews coz I'm looking forward to read them. Thanks!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter.

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Thirteen days later, Harry, Ron and Hermione were hanging out in Harry's apartment which was located in Wizarding London. He lived in the posh side of London along Sachway Alley. Five-star restaurants such as 'The Witch's Pot' and 'Galarious' stood proudly alongside famous pubs and clubs which was always crowded with rich teen wizards and witches. All these could be viewed from Harry's balcony located at the eighth floor. Hermione even spotted Selene Murray, an up and coming pop singer featured in the Witching Hour, coming out from Galarious a month ago with an unknown man and the next day, pictures were all over The Daily Prophet.

Harry just came back from his trip to the Canary Island, located in the northwestern coast of Africa. Puddlemere United players including the coach spent a week in the island to celebrate their win. Harry had a light tan having taken the advantage of the tropical weather in the island. They talked for almost an hour drinking butterbeer off the bottle before Ron announced that he had to go as he had planned dinner with Lila. Hermione and Harry talked for a while before they both decided to have dinner.

"You ready?" Hermione asked. Harry insisted that he had to change into a nicer shirt. Hermione had rolled her eyes thinking that Harry looked fine with the T-shirt that he had on. He came out two minutes later wearing a long sleeve green sweater that matches his eyes and a nice pair of blue jeans.

"Let's go." Hermione said.

"Wait!" Harry ran back into his room and had a cap in his hands when he came out a few seconds later. He put it on and made sure that it covers the top part of his face. Harry could never get out of the house without being recognized. It was difficult being around him at first but Hermione was so used to it by now that it felt almost natural. She would just shrug it off and she understands that it was part of the package if you want to be friends with Harry Potter. His cap could never really hide him away from everyone but he wears it anyway.

They made their way to Plumpton's, a café located at the end of Sachway Alley. As usual, Harry was stopped by a couple of female fans, asking for autographs and photos. Hermione gladly stepped aside not wanting herself in between all the attention. When they reached the café, they ordered a couple of sandwiches and decided to end the day at one of the clubs. They both entered the club after the doorman let them in to the disappointment of a group of guys who looked like they were in their late teens. Harry was glad that it was dark, which means that he would be less recognizable and made his way, with Hermione tagging behind, to the usual booth.

"Harry!" A tall woman waved her long arms trying to catch his attention. Harry smiled and waved back at her. She weaved through the crowded dancefloor and when she finally reached Harry, she gave him a quick hug and Harry gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Always lovely Lisha." Harry commented playfully. It was dark but Hermione could see that Lisha was blushing. Lisha James was the owner of the club and the trio had been patronizing her club ever since it opened three years ago.

"You always have something nice to say don't you?"

"Where's Drake?"

"He's in Liverpool. We're thinking of opening a club there so he's checking the site out." Lisha replied and turned towards Hermione. "How are you Hermione?" Lisha asked and they both pulled each other into a hug.

"I'm doing fine."

"Drinks on the house alright. I'll see you both later." Lisha said and walked back to where she came from.

"So, what about that offer that I mentioned earlier?" Harry suddenly asked.

"What offer?"

"I asked if you would like to go to Istanbul over the weekend." Harry looked at Hermione nervously and she suddenly felt hot on the cheeks and neck. She looked at Harry and saw him wearing an expression that was rarely on his face and Hermione could not put a description to it.

"Ron's away." Hermione said. "He's going to Germany."

"Well, I didn't invite Ron. I know he will be away. He told me."

"Harry I would love to got to Turkey and Istanbul is majestic but..."

Hermione looked at Harry and scrutinized his face. She wondered what the reason behind the invitation was. She was about to continue when she heard a voice behind her.

"You both better have a good story."

Hermione jerked around and saw Rita Skeeter behind her. "No chaperones…just the two of you…" She drawls. "What does that tell me?"

"We're mature 25 years old and that it is none of your business?" Harry suggested.

"Tsk tsk tsk Harry…same old rebellious Harry." Rita Skeeter commented and she gave a high pitched giggle. She turned her back towards them and gave a loud whistle. "There are here boys! I found them!"

Harry stood up and he saw at least five men, all with cameras in their hand. They heard Rita and rushed towards her. Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her towards him. "This way." He said urgently.

They ran towards the bar and made a left turn at the corner. Lisha was at the door that was at least ten feet away from where they were. She opened them and gestured for Harry and Hermione to hurry. "I'll handle them. Just go!"

"Thanks Lisha!" Hermione shouted over her shoulder after they had passed her. Lisha waved at them and shut the door. Harry and Hermione kept on running until they reached the end of a small alley and turned around the bend. Harry hid against the wall and pulled Hermione towards him. They were both panting, trying to catch their breath. Hermione started to laugh and Harry smiled upon hearing her laughter.

"That was…fun." She said as she looked up at Harry. Harry bent his neck down a little and kissed her forehead.

"Let's go. That's enough for tonight." Harry said. Hermione held on to his arm as they walked towards the bustling street ahead of them. They walked in silence and this was what Harry liked about being with Hermione. They did not have to say anything to get comfortable.

He reflected on the years back in Hogwarts. He had always found it irritating when Hermione starts to nag at Ron and him for not doing their homework or for getting into trouble. They way she looked at them when they did something wrong could usually give them the shivers but they got use to it.

Harry knew how or why they managed to stay friends for so long. Her unwavering loyalty was the reason why. Her trust had never falter and the fact that they had both started in the muggle world attracted Harry to the friendship. Ron and Ginny could never understand that, only Hermione could.

Throughout the years, they have shared so many ups and downs and other than Ginny he was the one that Hermione goes to when she had a problem. He remembered back when the break up with Ron had devastated her and he was with her after it happened.

"_Harry…" Harry turned to look at his bestfriend upon hearing her voice. She was quivering and her arms folded tightly across her chest. She started to sob and he walked up to her and she sobbed hard on his chest._

"_Hermione what happened?" He asked eventhough he already knew. She shook her head unable to say anything. She removed her head from his chest and he saw that her eyes were a little swollen and it looked like she had been crying for sometime. She wiped her tears with the back of her hands and gave Harry a small smile._

"_You don't have to pretend Harry. You already know."_

_Harry wondered how this girl in front of him was still able to think straight even when she was so distraught. _

"_Fine, then tell me what Ron said." Harry offered. They sat down by the fire in the deserted Common Room and Hermione started to share with Harry her distress. Harry nodded to acknowledge that he was listening and reached out to touch her hand or shoulder when she started to cry again. They talked for hours until they fell asleep side by side._

_The next morning, Harry woke up when Ron nudged him lightly. Hermione was no longer beside him and he guessed that she had gone up to the girls' dorm in the night._

"_Have you seen her?" Ron asked._

_Harry rubbed his eyes and adjusted his spectacles that were drooping down his nose. "Erm, no." he lied._

"_Harry, I didn't know she would act that badly. I heard her crying and I felt so bad. I thought she felt the same way I did about this relationship."_

"_Ron, were you tactful?" Harry asked eventhough he already knew how Ron broke the news to her._

"_Well…" Ron hesitated. "I started by telling her what I thought…you know about how it was not working well as I thought it would be."_

_Harry sighed and though about how Hermione was doing in her dorm room. He hoped that she had stopped crying because he knew she was stronger than she was the previous night._

Harry opened the door to his apartment and made his way to his bedroom ready to call it a night. He lay down on his bed and smiled. He was not sure why he was smiling. He only had hope in his heart that Hermione would say yes to his offer. Istanbul could be the only chance he would have to finally do what he should have done so long ago.

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Hermione dropped her handbag on the couch and walked to the kitchen. She took a glass off the counter top and filled it with water. She gulped it down realizing that she was really thirsty. She filled the glass with water again and made her way to her room. Her glass of water was finished before she reached her room so she placed it on her work desk before collapsing on the bed. She fell asleep immediately and slowly was swept into a confusing dream.

She was looking towards the horizon as the sun began to set. The orange sky was beautiful and as she looked up, birds were flying up above. The soothing sound of the water splashing against the boat was lulling her to sleep. She felt cold and started to rub her hands against her arms to keep herself warm. She closed her eyes and felt the cool sea breeze touching her cheeks. Then she heard something. It was not audible at first but then the voice repeated.

"I love you Hermione."

She turned around but saw no one. Then she heard something ringing, causing her to wince and cover her ears with her hands.

Hermione opened her eyes slowly realizing, in the subconscious of her mind that something was ringing very loudly making her jolt up of bed and slamming the alarm clock on the bedside table. It was six in the morning and Hermione groggily get up from the bed and made her way to the bathroom where she had a quick shower.

She put on her maroon turtleneck sweater and a pair of black pants. She brushed her hair untangling her brown curls. Before leaving the room, she felt like she had to do something and without really thinking what it was, she took a piece of parchment and her favourite quill and penned down a note for Harry.

_Dear Harry,_

_I'd love to go to Istanbul with you. I think I'll need a break._

_Love, Hermione_

She rolled the parchment and called for her owl, Nyin. She gave it a treat before it sets off to send the note to Harry. She made her way to the refrigerator and took a bottle of orange juice. On her way out, Crookshanks purred around her ankle and she gave the cat a scratch on its head. She took her handbag from the couch, her coat that was slouching beside her handbag, and head out the door for what she thought would be another uneventful Monday. Hermione dreads Mondays. She might love her job but Mondays had never failed to make her feel down.

As soon as she reached her office on level four of St Mungo's, she looked through her appointment book that was laid out on her desk by her secretary. She saw 'Kyle Risis' on 11AM and her heart suddenly fluttered in excitement. She decided to ignore it and start to do some paperwork as she had no one else coming in before Kyle. She had a report to hand in to Senior Healer Schmidt and it was due the next day at 12PM. She had handled a rare disease case called Hostanyse. She usually route disease cases to Healer Owen who specializes in Magical Bugs and Diseases but on this particular case, they had to work together because Healer Owen suspected that it was caused by a spell cast on Michael Rogers, the victim.

"_Hermione, I'm not sure if it's even Hostanyse. He is coughing a lot of phlegm and sneezing a lot of mucus that smells oddly like wild mushrooms and I could only think of Hostanyse." Natalie Owen's nose twitched at the mention of wild mushrooms. "And at the same time, his eyes waters everytime he sneezes or cough and the tears comes out like a flooded basin! That is not a Hostanyse symptom."_

"_Have you taken samples?" Hermione asked._

"_Yes I did and the results will be out today at 3PM. I hope you have no appointments because I would like us to look at it together. I've discussed it with the boss and he said to include you into the investigation."_

"_I don't think I have any appointments today but I'll need to check with Michelle. I'll send you a memo."_

"_I hope we'll be able to conclude something. It's so pitiful looking at him suffering like that. His family can't go anywhere near him. He's so detached."_

_Hermione looked at Natalie who had a wistful looked on her face. Her almond shape eyes soften and her pink lips curved into a frown._

"_What did he do before this happened? Who brought him in?" Hermione asked._

"_His friend John ran in and reports it to the reception. They were supposed to meet up for drinks but Michael did not turn up so he went to Michael's apartment and knocked on his door. John said he heard lots of coughing and sneezing and then he heard Michael's voice telling him to have St Mungo's get him to the hospital. He wanted to go in but Michael stopped him saying that it might be contagious. Smart man." Natalie said and Hermione caught her smiling just a fraction of a second._

Michael Rogers was discharged on Friday evening and Hermione had been writing the report since then. She will be doing her part while Natalie would be doing hers. They both discovered that Michael might have been contracted with the disease from the quill that he had bought from the new shop in Diagon Alley. 'Tulis' was a new stationery shop that opened a few weeks ago and had received numerous good reviews on its international collection of quills. A report was lodged and Louis Kyaw, the owner of the shop has been taken by the authorities to be questioned. It seemed like Michael was an isolated case because no one else came into St Mungo's with the symptoms that he had carried. Investigation was carried out by the authorities on Louis Kyaw's shop.

At exactly 11AM, there was a knock on the door and the tall figure of Kyle Risis walked in. The bandage on his hand had been removed and this was his last appointment with Hermione. Once Kyle was seated, she did the customary checks and after a few minutes, she signed off the release that he would not need to visit her anymore.

"You healed pretty fast." Hermione commented.

"Thanks to you." Kyle said and looked at Hermione with those smoldering blue eyes that always dazzled Hermione. She was not sure if Kyle knows the effect that he had on her so she turned away hoping that he would not see the blush that was rising up her cheeks. She passed him the discharge papers and he stood up after taking it from her.

"Hermione," Kyle started. "I hope you don't mind me calling you that." He quickly added having been calling Hermione 'Healer Granger' before this.

Her breath caught in her throat but she managed to reply, hoping that it does not sound like she was about to choke. "Not at all."

"I was wondering if you would like to go out with me this weekend."

"Like a date?" It came out from her mouth without a plan and Hermione could not believe how daring she was.

Kyle grinned sheepishly and nodded his head. "Well yeah, kind of like a date."

"Actually…"

"I'll be away to Sweden, back to my hometown starting late on Sunday so I was hoping I can bring you out before that."

Hermione thought about the note she had send to Harry a few hours ago and her mind began to whir. "I would love to." It had come out from her mouth as sudden as before and Hermione was surprised with herself.

"I'll see you at Sachway at 6PM then…Saturday." Kyle said and he looked relieved that Hermione had said yes.

"Sure."

Kyle opened the door to let himself out and saw a red head standing just a few centimeters away from him. He smiled at her and as soon as he unblocked Hermione's view, she saw Ginny. She let herself in and gave Hermione a hug before sitting down on the couch.

"Who's that? Dashing." Ginny complimented.

"That's Kyle Risis." Hermione said and Ginny squealed in excitement.

"The Kyle Risis?"

Hermione nodded her head and blushed furiously. She remembered mentioning Kyle to Ginny a few weeks ago when she realised that she might just be interested in him. She told Ginny about the date and they diverted about what she should wear.

"Oh enough about that. What brings you here?" Hermione asked.

"Do you think we can talk over lunch? I have a few things to share with you."

"Of course." Hermione took her coat and purse and walked out the door with Ginny. She pushed her thoughts to the back of her head. She had been contemplating on how to break the news to Harry. She was sure he would understand and that the trip could be pushed to another weekend. _Besides, it would just be more fun if Ron and Lila join us_, Hermione thought.

Hermione and Ginny walked out of St Mungo's and Hermione hugged her coat tighter around her body. The cool air stings her cheeks and as Ginny started to share on what she had wanted to, Hermione immediately forgets about the dilemma that had chanced upon her.


	4. Chapter 4

**a word from me**: I'm finally prepared to put up Chapter 4. I was quite busy with work and was sick for almost a week! I'm pretty excited about this chapter as this will escalate to a very long Chapter 5 which I will probably put up in two weeks time.

So enjoy and please leave reviews.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter.

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It was a bright Tuesday afternoon when Harry walked down the alley with a much lighter step. He seemed to be in a jovial mood and his heart was fluttering every time he thought about her. He was glad that Hermione decided to come to Istanbul with him. He was nervous when he asked her and he tried to sound nonchalant about it. He even practiced what he was going to say in front of the mirror. He wanted to look excited but not overly eager. He wanted to sound like it was a conversation between two friends but at the same time he hoped that he would sound just a bit more than that. He did not know when it happened or how it happened but he had been feeling this way for quite a while.

He had been denying it thinking that his affections for Hermione were from one friend to another. Everytime she was around him, he wanted to be next to her. Everytime a guy checks her out he had this emotion that rose up from the pit of his stomach and up to the tip of his heart; he only found out much later that it was jealousy. He only had eyes for her everytime they spent time in the club or a nice restaurant. If they were at a party, he would search for her in the crowd, giving her the casual smile that he had practiced. He would lie down on his bed every night, staring into the ceiling and wondering if she was thinking of him like he was thinking of her. He would close his eyes picture Hermione in his head and smiles.

Harry was not sure if he should tell Hermione. They had been friends for more than 10 years and if he telling her breaks the friendship, he would never forgive himself. He cared a lot about her and would not want to offend or hurt her in any way.

He bought a bouquet of flowers along the way. They were lilies and he knew she would love it. They had no plans together that day but he was going to surprise her with a visit. He made his way to St Mungo's and took the elevator to the fourth floor where her office was located. As soon as the door opens the big sign "Spell Damage Department" greeted him. He walked, fairly quickly straight ahead and made the third left turn. He was greeted by Michelle; Hermione's assistant and he gestured with his finger to his lips for her to remain quiet. She nodded her head and remained seated on her chair, the smile on her lips still intact.

Harry knocked on the door twice and heard Hermione answering to it. "What is it Michelle?"

He opened the door with the flowers held with his right hand in front of his chest. Hermione looked up from whatever she was doing and squealed in delight.

"Harry what are you doing here?" Hermione got up from her seat and walked towards Harry who gave her a hug and a kiss on her right cheek. "Lilies! I love lilies!" Harry held it to her and she took it with both of her hands, brushing her fingers on Harry's. She proceeded to the vase sitting on the corner of her table. She threw away the ones that were in the vase and replaced it with Harry's.

"I was wondering if you would be free for lunch." Harry said. He thought that it would sound more careless rather than asking her. It would seem like he was asking her out on a date if he made it sound like a question. He knew that Hermione would not mind either way but ever since he felt this way towards Hermione, he found himself backtracking and thinking about what he should do or say.

"Of course. Just give me a minute and let me clear this thing I was working on." Hermione said.

Harry took a seat on the brown leather couch that was placed in the corner of the room. He scanned the room and found it cozy. Hermione had placed pictures of her family and her on her desk. Mr Granger was on her left side while Mrs Granger was on her right. The background of the picture was the Eiffel Tower, rising up elegantly towards the clear blue sky. On the wall were pictures of the trio taken from the different trips they had made together. There was one of them in Hermione's dorm room when she was at the Healer Institution in France, a picture of Ron and Hermione when she visited him in Scotland and a picture of Harry and Hermione at the celebration party after winning the cup a few weeks ago.

"You ready?"

Harry nodded his head and they walked out of her office together. They walked to a nearby bistro that sells the best croissant sandwich that Harry ever tasted. The lettuces and the tomatoes always tasted fresh like it was hand picked from a plantation in the backyard minutes before it was served on the plate. During lunch they talked about Harry's scheduled training which was due to start in two weeks. Harry asked Hermione about her work which was her passion. It seemed like Hermione was fond about what she was doing. Her career was slowly carving itself into her life, making it into some kind of instrument to keep her alive. Harry did not mind hearing her talked about her career and about what she did at work. He not only hears but he listened, carefully taking notes mentally about her patients and how she had healed them.

"Did Ginny tell you her good news?" Hermione asked.

"Hmmm…let me guess…she was invited to try out for the Harpies?" Harry said with a grin.

"I have a feeling she did not tell you but somehow you already know about this."

"That's because I was the one who told Gwenog Jones how brilliant Ginny is." Harry said quite smugly and winked. "You and I both know that it's Ginny's dream to play professional Quidditch. So I thought I give her a hand."

"That's nice of you Harry. Always thoughtful."

Harry felt a rush of warmth on his ears and it spreads downwards to his body as soon as he heard that. After lunch, they made their way back slowly to St Mungo's and this was when Harry was told the bad news.

"Harry, we have to cancel that trip to Istanbul." Hermione said softly.

"What? But why?" Harry said slightly taken aback. Hermione took his arm and looped it around hers gently. It caused Harry to look up at her and saw the expression on her face. She was blushing, the colour slowly rushing up to her cheeks.

"Please know that I'm not blowing you off…it's just that there's this guy who I quite fancy." Hermione said and Harry's heart started to thump wildly.

_What guy? How come I did not know anything about him?_

Thoughts were zooming around his head but he kept it to himself. He would not want his reaction to scare Hermione.

"There's this Auror, I've been treating…" Hermione started. "His name is Kyle." She added quickly. "He asked me out and it falls on the same weekend as our trip."

"Can't you reschedule it?" Harry asked. _I asked you first_, he thought.

"Well, he will be away to Sweden for one week starting Sunday which was why I said yes. I mean he finally asked me out and we've been flirting occasionally when he comes down for an appointment with me." She started to blush again and Harry suddenly felt hot around his neck, regretting wearing the blue sweater that day.

_Flirting? An appointment with her? How many times?_ Harry reserved the thoughts inside his head and he was quiet for a while. Hermione noticed that he was and broke the silence.

"Harry please don't be angry with me. I promised we'll go the weekend after this." Hermione pleaded.

Harry woke up from his thoughts and looked up at Hermione. He took a steady breath and smiled at her. "Don't be silly. Of course I'm not angry. You're right; we can always go next weekend."

Hermione sighed in relief. "Oh thank you so much Harry. And we can have Lila and Ron join us next weekend. It'll be fun." She said excitedly. That was what he wanted to avoid. He was planning a weekend for just the two of them. Maybe he could build up the courage he needed to tell her how he feels.

"Totally." Harry said. "Now tell me about this wighead." Hermione swatted his arms and he chuckled. "Fine…tell me about Kyle."

Harry nodded his head once a while acknowledging her words. He was half listening, and as usual taking mental notes on what Hermione was talking about. She said he was good looking, eyes as blue as the sky and he was two years older than they were. He had blond hair and goes to a magic school for boys in Sweden where he grew up.

Hermione went on and on about Kyle and Harry felt the pang of jealousy building up quite quickly. He breathed steadily hoping that the envy in him world just burn away. He wants to be as excited as Hermione was but he could not find a room in his heart to do that.

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It was finally Saturday and Hermione was quite excited about the date with Kyle. Earlier in the day Ginny had accompanied her to shop for a new dress. She had found it unnecessary at first but quickly realize the need when she discovered that she did not own a nice dress. She wanted to impress Kyle. He had only seen her in her Healer coat and she wants him to see her differently.

So they went to a boutique in muggle London and Hermione managed to find a violet halter neck dress that reach just above her knee and it neatly fits her curves. Ginny helped her to choose some accessories to go along with the dress.

It was 15 minutes to 6PM. Hermione took one last look at the mirror to check that her brown curls are in place. She took her purse and her coat and walked out the door. Sachway Alley was just 10 minutes away from where she lived so she decided to walk her way there slowly.

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Harry looked at the clock on the wall and sighed. It was Saturday and he knew what was on that day. He knew that Hermione would be meeting her date in five minutes and his insides were churning in envy. He would be enjoying Istanbul with Hermione if it had not been for Kyle Risis. It was unfair. Harry knew it was childish to think that Hermione should have said no just because he had asked her to Rome before Kyle asked her out on this date.

Harry kept taking glances on the clock, wondering what Hermione was doing with what he refer Kyle to as the "wighead". He was wondering if Hermione was flirting with him and his insides churned again as it did just a few minutes ago. He heard that they would be having dinner at 'The Connoisseur' and he knew what she was going to order. She would probably have the pan seared chicken breast with porcini sauce and a glass of white wine. Then she would order a chocolate truffle pudding for dessert. He knew about her so much to know what she was going to eat and what she will have for dessert. He knew what type of wine she preferred and he also could predict that she would love some mandarin orange meringue pie. But he guessed she would not be able to because he would always order that for dessert and they would share.

"_No Harry you can't have a second from my pudding. I only had one of yours." Hermione said and swat his hand away._

"_Since when? I can have as many as I want. I thought we're sharing." Harry scowled._

_Ron chuckled at his best friends' antic. _

"_I will always order the pie and you'll order the pudding and we'll share. You know I can't have some from Ron's."_

"_Hey! What did you mean by that?" Ron asked with his arms crossed over his chest. "I can share." He added unconvincingly._

Harry smiled at that memory and was brought back to reality when he heard a knock on the door.

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"I'll have the chocolate truffle pudding please." Hermione told the waiter. She was satisfied with her pan seared chicken and she always had room for dessert. She looked expectantly at Kyle who was still reading the menu. "Need any recommendation?"

"I'm not much of a dessert person." Kyle said his eyes still on the menu. Hermione felt her face fell with disappointment and was glad Kyle did not notice it. _If Harry's here he'd order the pie_, she thought.

"I think I'll have what she is having." Kyle finally decided and gave back the menu to the waiter. Hermione shrugged off the slight frustration that was creeping into her and smiled at Kyle when he looked up at her.

The date had been nice so far as they discussed the recent changes going on in the Ministry. Kyle mentioned that his job might be affected if the Ministry decided to have their Aurors stationed to certain part of the globe.

"I don't mind going back to Sweden. Afterall that was where I grow up."

"What makes you come here? To England."

"When I decided to become an Auror, Sweden had not many opportunities. I've heard so much about England and how the Aurors here are well trained. I mean I've heard about Moody, Tonks, Kingsley Shackelbolt, they are all famous names in Sweden and I knew I had to come here and be trained right here in England."

"You must be good in school then. Straight A's? Hermione guessed.

"Well…I did." Kyle looked embarrassed when he revealed this piece of information.

They talked more and after finishing dessert, Kyle offered to walk Hermione home and she readily agreed.

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It was almost 9PM and Harry was still stealing glances at the clock. He felt restless. He had just finished a game of Wizard's chess with Ron and he had gone into the kitchen to have another helping of the whipped potato that Ginny had cooked earlier. Ginny and Ron dropped by for a surprise visit. Ron got back from Germany earlier than expected and Ginny wanted to personally thank Harry for helping her get the chance to tryout for the Holyhead Harpies. Thankfully, she had inherited Mrs Weasley's skills in cooking and the meal that she had prepared was sumptuous.

"If I get in Gwenog Jones herself will send me an owl. How cool is that?" Ginny said excitedly. "I tried for either Seeker or Chaser and I much prefer being a Chaser."

Ron snorted and she glared at her brother.

"What? What is it?" Harry asked sensing that there was something that Ron and Ginny knew and was not telling him.

"That boyfriend of hers is not supporting her." Ron revealed.

It happened so fast because as soon as those words came out of Ron's mouth, a zucchini was spiralling towards Ron who was lucky enought to miss it by inches. "You can't keep your mouth shut do you?"

"You know I can't...oh and that git is blaming you Harry. Said that you shouldn't have interfere in Ginny's career." Ron said adding more fuel to the already flaming Ginny.

She turned her back to Ron and helped herself to the kitchen carrying the empty plates and put it on counter top.

"Hey." Harry said tapping on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize Harry. It's not your fault...and ignore Draco. He's just being unreasonable...in fact I think he's jealous." Ginny added smugly.

"Why would he be?"

"I don't know Harry...he was the one who wanted to be a professor at Hogwarts since he graduated so I am not sure why he is acting this way. I wasn't the one who stopped him from becoming a professional Quidditch player and I still have not gotten any confirmation from Gwenog Jones."

"I'm sure things will go well. You just have to talk to him."

Ginny nodded her head and smiled but it faltered as soon as Ron walked into the kitchen. He apologized to Ginny and she was not letting him have it easy. However after a few minutes the tention ceased and they had laughed and talked like they did before Ron cause all the unnecessary tension. Harry's mind had to divert to Hermione occasionally and thought about what she was doing with Kyle. _Are they holding hands? Is she entwining her arm around his like she always did his as they walked down the street?_

Ginny left a few minutes before 10PM letting Ron and Harry hang out through the night. They played a few games of chess and after all those years, Harry still have not fully managed to beat Ron to his game. After their last game, Ron made his way to the kitchen and helped himself to more whipped potato.

"You're zoning out again." Ron pointed out when he came back to the living room.

"Huh?" Harry said turning his head to look at Ron.

"You're doing it again. Your eyes were almost blank." Ron tried to describe unsuccessfully.

"I think I'm tired."

"I may be daft at times but Harry you've been my best friend for more than 10 years. Something is bothering you." Ron scooped a big mouthful of whipped potato into his mouth and placed the bowl on the coffee table waiting for Harry's response.

Harry knew he had to tell someone about his feelings for Hermione. If he kept it to himself he might just burst and Ron had become trustworthy with secrets over the years of their friendship.

"You have to swear not to tell anyone." Harry started. That got Ron interested and he leaned in as Harry start to reveal the reasons for his behaviour for the past few hours.

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Hermione was smiling quite widely to herself. She still could feel the warmth on her cheeks and her neck started to feel the heat so she took of the scarf around her neck and drop it on the couch. She enjoyed her date with Kyle and was looking forward to meet him again when he comes back from Sweden next week. She sighed contentedly and went into her bedroom to reflect on the date. Kyle was no doubt a gentleman and he always said the right things at the right time. He made her heart flutter with excitement she felt like she could just blush all night long. She started to think about what he had said when he walked her home.

_"Hermione, I really like you...a lot." _

_"Kyle, you really have to stop making me blush." Hermione said, almost whispering as her voice got caught in her throat._

_Kyle chuckled. "Well it's true. I've been feeling that way since the first day I saw you. I think I will have to thank that first dark wizard I caught for letting us meet. If it's not for his hex, I won't be where I am right now...with you."_

_"Well then you have to go visit him in Azkaban then."_

_Kyle made a face when Hermione said 'Azkaban' and they both laughed at it. "No way I'm going there."_

_They reached the doorsteps to Hermione's apartment and before Kyle left, he planted a soft kiss on Hermione's right cheek and shifted his gaze to Hermione's eyes. "I'll see you soon." He whispered huskily._

Hermione shivered excitedly with the smile still plastered on her lips. She made her way to the bathroom and took off all her clothes leaving them in a heap just beside the bathroom door. She turned the knob for a warm shower to refresh herself for sleep. Once done, she put on her silk pyjamas and sat in front of the mirror. She brushed her hair, untagling her brown curls and she started to think.

She found herself comparing Kyle to Harry and was quite embarassed when she remembered doing that even when she was on her date with Kyle. It irked her just a little bit that Kyle ordered the exact same dessert as hers and thus narrowing down her need for dessert after every meal, especially dinner. But she had seen pass through that and enjpyed Kyle's company. So why was she still comparing them?

She started to close her eyes feeling the effects of the tiredness slowly sipping in. She fell into a deep sleep, forgetting the thoughts that was boggling in her head.


	5. Chapter 5

**a note from me:** Hi all. Thanks for sticking with this although there were not much reviews from the previous chapter. I need to know what is good or bad about this fanfic so i appreciate if you drop some comments at the end of this.

This is the chapter where I went crazy and keep on typing and typing and it's extra long that previous chapter. So please leave comments at the end. Thank you and enjoy!

P/S: Half-Blood Prince is less than a month away! Yipee to that!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter.

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Sunday brunch was a bi-weekly meet for both Hermione and Ginny. They had been doing this for so long that neither could remember when they started. That weekend, they both had something to share.

"It was horrible! We were both shouting at each other." Ginny exclaimed. "I was so sad at the end of it I went back to the Burrows and spent the night there." Ginny said. Hermione took the younger witch's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Has he come to get you?" Hermione asked.

Ginny shook her head sadly and cast her eyes down to her lap. "I'm sure he knows where I am. He just didn't come. I thought Draco was going to be supportive about this but it seemed like he's not." Her voice was obvious with disappointment.

Hermione was happy for Ginny when she heard that she had been selected to be the Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies. Gwenog Jones had sent the owl personally addressed to Ginny that morning. She had shared the news with Draco excitedly but her happiness was immediately drowned when he had not expressed the same excitement she did.

"Let's just forget about it. Our brunch is supposed to be a happy event." Ginny said brushing off her distress. "Tell me about that date with Kyle." As soon as Ginny had mentioned that subject, Hermione's cheek turned a light shade of pink. "Did he kiss you at the end?" Ginny added playfully.

"Just on the cheek." Hermione said sheepishly.

"Well that's a start. Is there a 'but' coming on there?"

Hermione thanked Merlin for giving her a friend who knew how she was feeling or what she was thinking about because it comes in handy at times. "I just feel like there's something missing. Yes he's a gentleman, he's nice, he's funny and he is all the things I want in a man. He's almost perfect."

"But he's not Harry." Ginny murmured.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Hermione asked and leaned in towards Ginny.

Ginny smirked and giggled at Hermione's reaction. "But he's not Harry." She repeated what she had just said a few seconds earlier. Hermione froze for a second and then she laughed out loud. Ginny looked at her friend in shock, wondering what the sudden laughter was about.

"You're funny Gin." She said in between laughter. "Why would you even say that?"

"You're clueless."

Hermione immediately stopped laughing and looked up at Ginny. Her freckled face was serious, her brows furrowed close together and her lips, spread into a thin line. She started to speculate about what Ginny had meant by clueless. She was always in the know about most things and 'clueless' was not how her friends would describe her.

"I've seen how Harry and you are around each other. It's like the both of you depend on each other's company."

"That's because we're best friends." Hermione defended.

"Of course you are. There's no denying that. But when you crave for his presence I have to point out that it counts as more than best friend."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Hermione said defiantly.

Ginny sighed patiently and reached out for Hermione's hands. "Hermione, it's ok to be in love with your best friend. Things happened and feelings developed and it's fine…"

Hermione pulled her hands away from Ginny and got up from her seat. "I think I'm in control of my feelings. You don't have to tell me about what or how I have to feel." Hermione's voice was low and almost trance-like.

"Hermione I'm not telling you how to feel, I'm just helping you discover the feelings that you might have for Harry."

Hermione picked up her purse from the table and looked at Ginny. "I don't need your help. Thank you very much." She got up from her seat and walked away and left Ginny staring at her retreating figure.

Hermione walked back to her apartment slowly needing no rush to get there quickly. She needed to think and walking makes her do that. She had questions streaming into her mind slowly like a lazy river. She did not want Ginny to be right because it would make things more confusing. She loved Harry but as a friend or more than that? They have gone through a lot of things together and were there for each other through break-ups, hardships and failures. No one had made her feel at ease everytime she had a problem bogging her down. Harry had been the one to cheer her up and be there when she called eventhough he was busy chasing his career.

When she broke up with Stephen, a boy she met when she was in her second year in the Healer Institute of France, Harry was at the peak of his career having set the record for seventeen straight catches of the Snitch since he started with the Cannons. There were so many reports of him; good and bad. Those who were jealous doubted him saying that it was probably just a phase and that sooner or later, someone else would be better than him and Harry would just be history. He was under pressure to keep his pace and Hermione knew it was not easy. But he was there with her through endless tears.

"_I gave him everything Harry. Everything!" Hermione was a little drunk having been drinking Firewhiskey out the bottle since Stephen broke up with her six hours ago. She continued ranting in between sobs. "My life, my time, my devotion…and…my virginity!"_

_She broke into loud cries and dropped her head on Harry's chest. "I hate him!"_

_Harry rubbed her back soothingly telling her that things would be alright. "Hermione, he's not worth it. He's an arse, you shouldn't be crying over him, and," Harry took the bottle of Firewhiskey away from her hand, "you should stop drinking."_

"_Three years and he call it quits! What the bloody hell was that all about?" Hermione said and began crying again._

_Harry had let her cry on his chest for hours and then put her to sleep and made her breakfast the next day._

She shook her head trying to shake off the memory. She took off her shoes as soon as she reached her bedroom and lay down on the bed. She stared at the ceiling and she was thinking about Harry.

"_He said that we do not have anything in common and he said that I deserve someone better." Hermione trembled. "What kind of reason is that?" Hermione buried her head into her hands and immediately felt soothed at the touch of Harry's warm hand on her shoulder._

_He rubbed her shoulders comfortingly and she felt calmed eventhough her head was in a storm of anger and never ending questions. She wiped her tears dry and tried to give Harry a smile._

"_You know what? This is not going to bring me down. I'm not going to let Ron Weasley bring me down." She had thought hard before she came in crying to Harry. She convinced herself that she would be strong. Harry gave her a hug before she went up to bed, crying silently until the wee hours of the morning._

"Am I in love with him?" Hermione asked out loud to no one. She knew that it was now her mission to find out. She sat up on her bed and thought about how she felt when she was around Harry. She knew she would immediately feel comfortable in Harry's presence. They had been friends for many years so naturally Hermione had no need to be on her toes around Harry. She loved the fact that she could be herself and Harry would never judge her.

_"Feeling better?" Harry asked when he took his place beside her during breakfast the next day._

_"I'm still working on that." Hermione replied. "I know I'll just come out of it soon. I just need time."_

_"I'm sorry."_

_"For what Harry?"_

_"For knowing what's going to happen but keeping it from you. I just felt that you deserve to know it from Ron and not from me…and I'm sorry it didn't work out."_

_"Oh Harry…" Hermione had tears glistening in her eyes._

_"Don't cry Hermione." Harry said almost pleading. He scanned the hall, afraid that she would attract attention. Hermione sniffled and smiled, wiping her tears with the back of her hand._

_"It wouldn't work out anyway. I mean, what was I thinking? For the past six or seven years all we did was scream at each other and he would purposely make me cry, hurting my feelings…what was I thinking Harry?"_

_Harry shrugged. He placed his arms around Hermione's shoulder and pulled her closer, rubbing her shoulders softly. "I'll always be here whenever you need me."_

_"Thank you."_

She liked the fact that whenever they ordered dessert after their meals, Harry would order chocolate truffle pudding because he knows it was her favourite and he would order a mandarin orange meringue pie so that she could eat that too. Harry knew so much about her that it made her heart flutter with excitement when she thought about it. He knows she like her milk warm and her cereal dry. He would burn lavender scented candles for her everytime she sleeps over because the scent would make her fall into a deep undisturbed sleep.

She closed her brown eyes and massaged her temples. She reminded herself to scold Ginny when she sees her because her bringing up the matter had made this headache almost unbearable.

"Ginny." She whispered. She suddenly remembered the way she had treated Ginny. She was quite harsh but no one should blame her because she was caught off guard. Anyone would react that way if they were. "I have to apologize." She said to no one, again. She realized that she not only have to apologize but she would have to admit because somewhere inside her, she knew that she felt something for Harry.

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The next day, she made her way to The Burrows after work, cancelling dinner plans with Harry. She felt like she need to figure out herself first before she meet Harry. She knocked on the door and was greeted by Ginny.

"I'm already packing mum!" Ginny hollered. She turned her head to the door and froze. "Oh, hello." She greeted Hermione.

Hermione giggled and it made Ginny laughed. "I'm sorry. I hope it's not too late." Hermione said.

"Come here." Ginny said and embraced Hermione into a hug. "And come in, mum just baked some chocolate cake."

Hermione walked into the house and smelled a waft of warm chocolate cake. It was inviting and it had always been that way in The Burrows.

"Hi Mrs Weasley." Hermione greeted.

"Hello Hermione dear. It's been quite a while since I last saw you." Mrs Weasley came out from the kitchen and embraced Hermione affectionately.

"I've been busy at St Mungo's. Sorry about that."

"It doesn't matter. You're here now. But I will have to make my way to Diagon Alley. I'm visiting George. I'm sure he will appreciate this cake."

Hermione realised that it was so many months ago since she last visited George at the joke shop. She mentally note down that she would visit him some day. "Send my regards to him please."

"Of course I will."

Ginny and Hermione settled on the sofa after Ginny cut a slice of cake for each of them. Ginny told Hermione about how Draco was sorry and would be picking her up to go back to the apartment that they shared.

"I'm so relieved. I couldn't sleep soundly for the past few nights. One of the most important things for me right now is for Draco to be part of my life. I want him to be part of my life and I want Quidditch to be part of my life too. Is it wrong to have so many things you want all at the same time?" Ginny asked after eating her last bite of the cake.

"It's not wrong and it's possible. Sometimes we just have to compromise and it's always easier said than done." Hermione replied.

"What are you going to do about Harry?"

"I'm not sure. Should I tell him how I feel? And what about Kyle? He's coming back tomorrow and we'll be having dinner together."

The two witches sat in silence and for the first time neither of them had a clue on what to do.

"Let's forget about Kyle first shall we?" Ginny finally suggested and Hermione shrugged. "Why don't we go up to my room? I just need to bring a few things over before I leave."

They went upstairs and as soon as they were behind closed doors, Hermione expressed out loud the thing that had been nagging her as soon as she realized what she had the day before.

"Do you think Harry might feel the same way?"

Ginny bit her lip and beckoned Hermione to join her on her bed. "My intuition tells me yes." When Hermione kept quiet, Ginny continued to explain her suspicions. "Hermione, I think it has always been you."

Hermione turned to face her, her brow furrowed in question. "What do you mean?"

"You're in the trio, I wasn't. I was jealous. I tried to understand that you've been his bestfriend but everytime I see you two together, I kind of lost hope. When he told me that he couldn't be with me that day after Dumbledore's funeral, I had an inkling that he just wouldn't want to commit with me. You spent more time with him than I did when you went to fight Voldemort…who knows? Anything could happen."

Hermione reached out for Ginny's hand and squeezed it gently. "Nothing happened. The three of us were together most of the time…other than the time that Ron decided to bail out. But Harry and I…we.."

"Hermione, I just know…you don't have to explain…and when I said that it has always been you, it's because you're the one who was always there with him. Who was with him to fight Voldemorr? You did."

"Ron did too." Hermione interrupted.

"But you were vital in most of the challenges he faced. You're the one who remained by his side when his name came out of the Goblet of Fire. Ron didn't. You helped him through all the challenges, Ron didn't. You stayed with him eventhough it looked bleak when you guys were looking for the Hocruxes…Ron left."

Hermione remained quiet her mind suddenly whirring with questions. "He is important in your life and you're important in his too. I think you both are meant to be."

Hermione looked at Ginny and realization started to hit her. It had been Harry all those while. It was Harry whom she loved.

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Harry browsed through the shelves of books in the store trying to find something for Hermione. Last week, she had mentioned about getting the new book from one of her favourite authors, Jordan Wind. He was disappointed that she could not join him for dinner that day and since he was already out, he walked down Sachway Alley in search of the book.

The door to the bookstore opened and a gust of wind blew Harry's messy hair. He silently thank that he has his back faced to the door so that it would not affect his hair much.

"Hi, I'm looking for 'A Useful Guide to Normal Maladies'. Do you have it here?" The sweet voice stopped Harry in his tracks. He slowly turned around to see the figure of a long hair blonde woman who looked as beautiful as she had the last time he saw her. She turned her head towards Harry and repeated what Harry did just a few seconds ago; she froze and looked at Harry.

"Hi." She managed to say whereas Harry remain rooted to the ground and stare at her. The woman started to blush and turned away from Harry.

"I'm sorry." Harry finally said. "I hope I wasn't staring." He took a few steps towards the woman and caught a whiff of the scent that had driven him crazy. "How are you?"

The woman turned to face Harry and gave him a small smile. "Pretty good."

The store owner gave the woman the book that she had enquired amount and ring up the cash register. "That's 22 sickles."

The woman passed the coins to the store owner and continued to cast her eyes straight ahead afraid that she might blush if she looked at Harry again. Harry was still staring at her and before she could get out of the store, he regained his composure and lightly grabbed her hand.

"Emily would you like to have dinner with me?" Harry asked.

Emily tugged on her coat nervously and bravely met Harry's eyes with hers. "Sure."

Harry opened the door for her and they walked out into the cool wind side by side. Harry always noticed that his breath would be caught in his throat everytime he saw Emily's hair blowing in the wind. It was happening again and he could not look away.

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Harry just reached his apartment and was in a daze. He had finished the dinner with Emily Cole, his ex-girlfriend. He sat on the sofa and suddenly had flashbacks that remained as clear as if it only happened yesterday.

_"Hi I'm Harry."_

_"I think everyone knows that. It's me you need to know." Emily flirted. "I'm Emily." She held out her hand and shook Harry's._

Harry felt himself drifting away and was soon re-living another memory.

_"Thank you Harry. I had a great time. Dinner was superb and the bouquet was really pretty and you look dashing and..."_

_"Emily…"_

_"What? I know I'm babbling and I babble when I'm.."_

_"Nervous?" Harry guessed. He moved in a little closer to her until they were only inches apart. They were of the same height so when Emily looked up, she was staring at Harry's eyes. Harry cupped her chin with his right hand and brought her lips to his in a sweet kiss. He sighed when Emily responded positively by leaning on him and kissed him back._

He lay down on the sofa, closed his eyes and float into another memory.

_"This is the best Valentine's Day ever!" Emily exclaimed._

_Harry wrapped his arms around her waist, lifted her up and spins her around resulting in laughter that always fills his heart with warmth. They were in a middle of the street at midnight and no cars were driving by. Harry kissed his girlfriend, grinning when she responded to the graze of his tongue on her lips. They were embraced in their own world. Emily wrapped her arms around Harry's neck and deepened the kiss that they were sharing._

_When she gasped for air, she looked at Harry and smiled at him._

_"I love you Harry Potter." She whispered and his heart started to race at those three words._

_"I love you Emily Cole."_

Harry started to feel restless and got up from the sofa. He walked into the kitchen and pours himself a cup of pumpkin juice.

_"Congratulations!!! Most Valuable Player…wow…how does that feel?" Harry received a warm welcoming hug from his girlfriend._

_"Feels wonderful and this year I got to share it with you." Harry kissed Emily on her lips and slowly moved his lips down her neck and smirked when he heard her moaned in pleasure._

_"Gosh Harry…I swear you put me on fire everytime you do that." They continued to snog and Emily slowly pulled him into her room and by that time Harry was topless and Emily was in her black lacy bra and matching knickers. They moved towards her bed and when Harry was on top of her, Emily skillfully unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants, unable to resist any longer._

_Harry trail kisses down her neck towards her chest stopping on the curve of her breast and unhooked her bra. He moved his lips down her tummy and nearing her sensitive spot and he expertly pull down the knickers down her waist. Emily was moaning and whispering out his name._

Harry jerked his head up when he heard a knock on his door. He was not sure if he was angry or relieved with the interruption.

"Harry it's me." He heard Hermione called out. His heart started to beat really fast and he was uncertain whether to let her in. Harry remained where he was and waited for her retreating footsteps. She walked away a few seconds later and Harry buried his head in his hands, feeling so confused. He drank the last bits of his pumpkin juice and made his way to his bedroom where he laid on his bed reminiscing about Emily again.

_"I love you." Emily said and gave Harry a light kiss on the lips. _

_She got out of bed, walking towards the shower, wearing nothing. Her hips swayed seductively and Harry was unable to resist so he just stared at her. He heard the water running in the shower and his mind started to imagine the wildest things he could do with Emily. He got up from his bed and joined Emily who welcomed him by pulling him into a hug and kissed him passionately._

A flash of colours ran behind his eyes and Harry clenched his fist.

_"I can't do this anymore."_

_"But you have to at least tell me what the reason is." Harry almost shouted._

_Emily had her eyes cast down, afraid to meet Harry's rage. She was crying, tears streaming down her cheeks. Harry grabbed her shoulders and she whimpered. "Why Emily?"_

_She remained quiet and it made Harry really angry. He punched his fist on the nearest coffee table causing a slight dent on it. Emily cried more at his reaction. "I'm really sorry Harry. I just can't. I can't explain why."_

_Harry took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. This revelation was taking a toll on him and he felt his energy being depleted. He took Natasha's hands into him and caressed it gently. "Emily I love you. Baby look at me please."_

_Emily brought her blue eyes to his and shook her head, pulling her hands away from him. She kissed his forehead and turned her back to him._

Harry got up from bed and took his gym gear and bag with him out the door. He felt the need to run because running helps him to forget things that he needed to.

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"Where is he?" Ginny asked when she saw Hermione walking down the Alley. She took a last sip from her juice and got up from her seat.

"He's not home. I knocked on his door a few times but no one came to it." Hermione replied. "Let's go somewhere else. I need to get this tension out of my system. Oh but wait, Draco will be picking you up right?"

"Don't worry about that. I told him that I'll move back in myself. It's not like I have lots of things with me. He has an appointment with McGonagall anyway. I'm not sure when he'll be free to pick me up."

"Great!" Hermione exclaimed. "Ginny what am I going to do? I had all this conversation planned and then I can't say it to him. This frustrates me a little."

They walked down the cobblestone path slowly. They were discussing on the new academic plans that McGonagall had planned for Hogwarts. Ginny received all the information from Draco who was teaching in Hogwarts. He was their Defense against the Dark Arts professor for almost four years.

"I wished we had something like that when we were in Hogwarts. That would really help in our future careers and…"

"Wait!" Hermione stopped Ginny from walking any further and pointed to something or someone a few metres in front of them. A waist length hair blonde woman was sitting alone in a café with a book in her hand. She neatly tucked loose strands of her hair behind one ear, not disturbed by the light wind that was blowing down the Alley.

"Oh my…is that…" Ginny started.

"Emily Cole." They both said in harmony.

"What is she doing here?" Ginny asked and her tone of voice was inclining towards accusation. "She shouldn't be here." She continued, now sounding more like she was angry.

"I want to talk to her. Come on." Ginny said and before Hermione could stop her, Ginny was already a few feet in front of her. The high heels that Ginny was wearing had definitely not stopped her from walking really fast even on an uneven path.

"Oh Ginny." Hermione sighed feeling defeated.

"Hi Emily." Ginny greeted her voice just a little on the high pitch side. "What welcomes you here?" Ginny asked not letting Emily even breathe out a greeting back to her. "Not trouble I hope."

Hermione squeezed the younger witch's arm to stop her from saying any more hurtful things. "Hi Emily." Hermione smiled at her sympathetically.

"Hi Hermione…Ginny." Emily said, more curtly towards Ginny.

Ginny was flushing slightly and the red head was always known to flare up even at the slightest things. Her hands were crossed against her chest and, her brown eyes refused to simmer away from the glare.

"I'm just dropping by before I go back to Birmingham." Emily said replying to Ginny's question.

"Oh so that's where you've been hiding?" Ginny asked sarcastically.

"Ginny that's enough!" Hermione said sternly.

"Fine! I'll back away. You can tell her that I do not like her here and that if she has any agenda behind her appearance I'll hex her." Ginny stomped away her red hair blowing furiously and it was quite a sight to behold.

"Emily I'm really sorry about that. I think she's having one of those days." Hermione said.

"Hermione you don't have to make up excuses for her. That's just the way it is and I know she doesn't really like me anyway. I guess I helped her to be more certain of her feelings towards me when I broke up with Harry."

Hermione gave a tiny smile knowing what Emily had just said was true. "Well I better get going. I'll see you around."

"Tell Ginny she won't have to worry. I'll be gone in a few days." Emily said and went back to her reading. Hermione nodded her head and jogged towards Ginny who was already at the end of the alley.


	6. Chapter 6

**a word from me:** More drama in this chapter! Well I won't say drama but more like revelations...realizations. So please read and review and tell me wwhat you think about this chapter.

Thank you.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter

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It was the day after Kyle came back from Sweden and Hermione found herself sitting in her office and staring into nothingness. She was glad that she was free that morning as all her appointments were scheduled for the afternoon. She told Michelle to not accept anyone for that morning because she felt like getting away to think. She decided to get out of her office and go somewhere else.

"I'll be back by 1PM." She told Michelle.

"Ok." Michelle replied realizing that Hermione looked a little distant that morning.

Hermione walked slowly down the path towards the exit and she saw Michael Rogers and a few seconds later Natalie joined him. Natalie did not see Hermione so she walked ahead with Michael and they too were heading to the exit.

"Natalie!" Hermione called out. Natalie turned her head back and smiled sheepishly when she saw Hermione. Michael looked at Hermione, trying to remember where they might have met and he broke into a smile when it dawned on him.

"Hi Healer Granger." He greeted.

"Hello Michael. How are you doing?" Hermione asked.

"I'm doing pretty well. Thanks for asking."

"So…" Hermione looked from Michael to Natalie and her eyebrows arched, searching for an answer.

"Oh, we're having brunch." Natalie said as she blushed. "Would you like to join us?" Hermione caught the frown on Michael's face and she stifled a giggle.

"Oh no please. You two go ahead. I'm heading somewhere else. I'll see you at the meeting later." Hermione told Natalie.

Hermione decided to get away for a while and she knew that the only sanctuary at this moment was her apartment. She walked to the same alley where she had apparated to the Quidditch match and apparated to her apartment. She sat down on her bed and shut her eyes as flashes of images ran behind her closed orbs. She started to think about what happened during her dinner with Kyle and thought about how it could all end differently.

Kyle had picked her up from work at 6PM, just as she had finished with her last patient. He was sitting at Hermione's office premises chatting with Michelle while he waited. Hermione was nervous when Kyle gave her a peck on her right cheek. They had dinner at Plumpton's but because she was so nervous, it was difficult to enjoy her meal.

"_It's finalized. I will be moving back to Sweden and continuing with my Auror duties back home."_

"_Well, that was decided pretty quickly…when do you have to move?" Hermione asked._

"_I have to get some paper work done first. After all of that's done, I'll be gone."_

_They finished their dinner while talking about work and Hermione started to feel a bit more relaxed. Like their last date Kyle walked her home. At her doorsteps, they both looked at each other and said each other's names in unison._

"_Hermione…"_

"_Kyle…"_

_They both looked nervous now and Hermione was playing with the edge of the scarf that was wrapped around her neck._

"_You go first." Hermione said._

_Kyle scratched the side of his head and took a step closer towards Hermione. "The thing is…alright how do I say this…"_

"_Kyle…what is it?" Hermione asked._

"_Well I'm very attracted to you and all I thought about when I was back home was you and how nice it would be if I could…kiss you?"_

_Hermione looked up and met his eyes. He bent his head lower and touched her lips with his. She closed her eyes feeling the warmth emitting out from his hand that were on her shoulders. When he kissed her, Hermione responded by kissing him back. The kiss was not urgent; it was soft and careful. Hermione felt herself shiver and thought about how it felt so good but so wrong at the same time. Kyle moved his lips to her cheek and her jawline and finally on her neck and it heightened her senses. She pushed Kyle gently._

"_I'm sorry." She whispered. "Don't you think we're moving too fast?"_

_Kyle sighed and planted a light kiss on her forehead. "No I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. Can I see you again tomorrow for dinner?"_

_Hermione had hesitated but she nodded her head._

She blamed Kyle's pleading blue eyes for making her say yes. She was confused because now she likes Kyle but she was thinking about Harry. She had planned to tell Kyle that they should not see each other anymore so that she would not lead him on but last night's date had made her decided that she should probably keep it to herself first. She could not bear to tell Kyle that she would not like to see him again.

It was half an hour more to her first appointment for the day. She decided to apparate back to the alley where she would make her way straight to her office and spend the next four hours trying to forget that her mind was in a wire mess.

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"Harry, I'm here to tell you what happened two years ago." Emily explained. Harry placed the two glass of pumpkin juice on the table in front of the sofa. Harry was surprised when he opened the door and saw Emily and now he felt confused as to why Emily suddenly decided to tell him the reason she left. He was not sure if he would like to hear it as much as he would two years ago.

"I wasn't ready then but I'm ready now and I feel like you deserve to know." Emily continued when Harry did not say anything. "But before I start I want you to know that it was hard for me to leave you and that I never meant to hurt you in any way."

Harry nodded his head and gave her a small smile. He took a deep breath, let it out and looked at Emily. "I'm ready if you're ready."

"Harry, remember a few months before I left, you went away to Ireland for a practice session for about two weeks?"

Harry shrugged. "Hardly but please continue."

"Well you went away and during the period when you were gone…I cheated on you."

When he heard those words, he did not flinch but casted his eyes on the floor. Emily had paused when Harry shifted his eyes away from her. "Go on." Harry muttered.

"I met a guy at a party that I attended and we talked and had too much alcohol and we…I…slept with him." Emily paused again to look at Harry who had an unreadable expression on his face. "I woke up the next day feeling confused and the next night I met the guy again and I let him kiss me. He said that he had never met anyone like me and was attracted to me. But I left Harry because I felt so guilty."

Harry was clenching his fists tightly trying to control his emotions. He was unsure how he was feeling after this new revelation. He was uncertain of the rumble in his chest and asked himself if it was anger or frustration or both.

"Harry…" Emily continued timidly. "Please understand that I was ashamed of myself. I couldn't bring myself to look at you properly after that. I was distraught about what I had done. You deserve so much more than a girlfriend who had cheated on you."

Harry smirked. "Really?"

Emily's eyes which had earlier focused on Harry were now cast upon the hands on her lap as she was unable to face Harry's angry eyes.

"There's something else…"

"Great! There's more?" Harry fumed.

"Harry you have to give me a chance. It took me so much courage to come over here to see you and explain the things that I had done…please…" Emily pleaded.

"Six weeks after that incident…I…I found out that I was pregnant."

Upon this new confession, Harry felt like he had been pushed to the ground and kicked on the stomach. He buried his head in his hands and he knew that if he did not control his emotions, the rumble in his chest would turn him into a monster. People who knew Harry would not want to get him angry because they knew he would be unpleasant when he is angry. So he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He got up from his sitting position and walked around the house. He walked to the kitchen, took a glass of water, gulped it down and made his way to his room. Before he entered, he paused and looked at Emily who was still sitting on the couch.

"Stay." He said. "Don't go anywhere. We're not done."

Emily who was stunned to say anything nodded her head and remained on the couch. Harry paced up and down the length of his room trying to calm himself down.

_Pregnant?_ Harry thought in his head and the word kept playing in his mind like a broken old record. He felt disappointed and betrayed. For half a year after Emily left, he went through the breakup over and over in his head and wondered what he had done wrong. He had suffered and almost gone into depression and his career almost collapsing into nothingness. Emily was not there for him and she did not know the life he went through. Only one person knows and his head jerked up in realization.

He does not care anymore. He realized that he does not have to care about the reason why Emily left. He was now living for one woman and only her. He loved her and things do not matter anymore. Harry walked out of his room and as soon as Emily saw him she stood up and looked at Harry curiously.

"It doesn't matter anymore." Harry started. "Emily…it was two years ago. I…forgive you, if that's what you're here for."

Emily sighed in relief. "Thank you Harry. I just thought you ought to know."

"I appreciate that."

They stood opposite each other in silence. After what seems like the longest uncomfortable silence Harry had ever experienced, Emily broke it and announced her departure.

"No please. Let's talk. I have a jug of pumpkin juice and we can talk about you…and your baby." Harry added the last part hesitantly.

Emily shrugged and gave him a tiny smile. "That sounds great."

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It was finally the last appointment and Hermione was eagerly waiting for this moment to come. She shrugged off her white coat and hanged it on the clothing rack. She checked herself in the mirror and saw that her hair was still in place. She smiled to herself and hurried out the door.

"Where are you hurrying to?" Michelle asked with a playful tone in her voice. "You've been on the edge of your seat all day."

"Just somewhere important." Hermione called out from her shoulder seeing that Michelle was already out of view.

Hermione have made a decision; something so important and she felt like if she did not do it now, she could lose all the courage and back out. She was going to tell Harry how she feels about him. Ginny was right. Her own best friend was also her soul mate. She had always love Harry but now she was in love with him. Her mind had been playing the times she had shared with him; good and bad. They were there for each other every single step of the way either rejoicing a wonderful moment or crying over a loss. The butterflies in her stomach had her really giddy with excitement upon this new discovery and she had welcome it with an open heart. She was almost skipping as she made her way to Harry's apartment where she knew he would be.

Her smile was still curved up on her lips as she reached the doorway to Harry's apartment. She pulled the door and her heart started to flutter nervously. Hermione turned the corner towards Harry's apartment and she froze at the sight that greeted her. Harry's side was facing her and the arms of another woman were wrapped around his neck and her lips were on his. Hermione hid behind the wall and she quickly apparated out of the building and into her own apartment. She could hardly breathe and felt foolish for not even thinking about it. Harry was embracing Emily and their lips were locked in a kiss.

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"Well I'm glad that he's taking responsibility and helping me out with Lisa." Emily said.

"Does she have your hair?" Harry asked as he followed her to the door.

"Yes she does."

"Then she's going to turn heads by the time she's a teenager." Harry joked.

Emily laughed and turned back to Harry once they were outside the door. She took a step forward and throws herself on Harry. Harry was shocked when Emily forced herself on him, capturing his lips with hers. Her arms were wrapped around his neck tightly and Harry had to pry them away and pushed her gently.

"Emily…I hope I didn't give you the wrong impression…I…I'm in love with someone now."

Emily looked startled and she quickly removed her arms from Harry's shoulder. Her cheeks turned red in embarrassment. "I'm sorry…I don't know what came over me." She muttered nervously. "Seeing you…it just makes me go back to four years ago when I met you."

"Emily…" Harry raked his fingers through his messy black hair and sighed. "I got over you." Emily looked up at him; hurt written in her eyes. She chuckled nervously.

"I never did."

"I think you should leave…take care." Harry said and slowly closed the door. He stood against the door and closed his eyes.

"Harry." Emily's voice from the other side of the door was soft. "I'm sorry. You won't hear from me again…I promise."

Harry kept quiet and heard her retreating footsteps slowly disappearing. He felt relieved. He remained standing against the door closing his eyes back again.

"_Harry, you have to get out of bed. It's been a week. You have to move on."_

_Hermione knocked on his bedroom door for the umpteenth time not giving up hope that Harry would come through the break up. _

_Harry unlocked the door using his wand to let Hermione in. He was lying facing down on his messy bed. Bottles of Firewhiskey lay at the bedside and his curtains were drawn in making the room dark and musty. He had hair growing on his upper lip and chin and his eyes were closed afraid to look at Hermione._

"_Harry." Hermione whispered. She climbed on his bed and lay down on the side that was empty. She moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "It's going to be ok. You're going to be fine."_

Harry had a distant look in his eyes as he remembered back on those days when Hermione stick with him through thick and thin. He was thankful that she brought him back up when he was at his lowest.

"_Harry don't read that." Hermione pleaded. She tried to take the Daily Prophet away from him but he was faster than her, snatching it off the table before she could. Harry's heart was set ablaze at the bold words on the front page._

"_From Most Valuable to Most Unwanted"_

_Harry Potter, the newly crowned Most Valuable Player started the season with the most unflattering catch. Out of three games, he had done no "snitching" and Puddlemere is now at the tail of the league table for the first time since 1901. What happened to Puddlemere's hero who caught all the snitches during last fantastic season? Is he gone? No one knows whatever happened to Potter but it has to be linked to the breakup with Emily Cole, Britain Wizarding's most famous socialite._

_Potter and Cole started dating slightly more than a year ago and were spotted all over Britain doing fine dining and partying. Cole who is two years older than Potter was always spotted at the Grandstand of all Puddlemere's game cheering on her then boyfriend. No one knows what the reason behind the breakup was. However we all know that Potter's downhill performance has to do with this high profile split. _

_When will Puddlemere get their hero back? It is time for Potter to up his performance or we will not be seeing him in Puddlemere by the end of the season?_

_Harry placed the Daily Prophet on the coffee table and slumped on the couch. His green eyes looked faded. "Am I really that bad Hermione? Tell me the truth without sparing my feelings."_

"_Well…from what I heard, people said you sucked."_

_Harry chuckled at what Hermione just said and he should know better that she would not be able to judge. She could not tell the difference because she was neutral. She was there to support Harry and it does not matter if he was good or bad._

"_Harry…are you happy? And I'm not talking about this Emily situation because you are supposed to forget about her." Hermione said accusingly. "Harry, Quidditch is your life and I'm sure you don't want to lose it."_

_Harry remained silent as his brain started to whir with questions. "I don't know Hermione…but you're right. Quidditch is my life."_

"_Then what are you doing Harry? Be that man I know. Go out there and prove all these people who doubt you. Tell them that they are wrong! I can't bear to look at you like this every day. It breaks my heart."_

_Harry nodded his head suddenly realizing that he had wasted his life thinking that Emily would come back to him. He was being stupid and reckless. He looked at Hermione and gave her a smile. "What would I do without you?"_

"_You'd do fine. I'm just going back to France for a week for a research conference and when I come back we'll share a chocolate truffle pudding."_

"_And an orange meringue pie." Harry added._

"_Of course." Hermione said and kissed Harry on his forehead._

Harry smiled at that memory. After that day, he was back up on his feet and had slowly regained his confidence and helped Puddlemere climbed up the league one game at a time. Everyone was impressed with his performance and those who had doubted him fell silence by his awesome come back.

He suddenly felt like he needed to do something and it could not wait. He had to tell Hermione about his feelings. He was not sure if they would ever go to Istanbul so it was now or never. A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and he opened it and saw Ron.

"I have to go tell Hermione that I love her." Harry said.

"Ok you got me off guard there." Ron confessed.

"You're blocking my way." Harry said ignoring Ron's comments.

"You're not even going to let me in?"

"What is it Ron? Is there something more important than me telling Hermione how I feel?"

"Well…it's…fine. Go! If it's ok with you I'll crash here so you can tell me what happen after." Ron squeezed past Harry to let himself in.

"Make yourself at home."

"No problem with that." Ron muttered to himself seeing that Harry had already left and the door closed behind him.

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Hermione's eyes were blotched with tears. Everytime she wiped them away, fresh tears threatened to spill down her cheeks, and she let them run freely. She blew her nose into a piece of handkerchief and cried some more. She felt horrible; like there was an empty hollow in her stomach and whichever way she lied down, left or right, the hollow stayed there reminding her of what she had witnessed.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Hermione jolted up from her lying down position. "Hermione, it's me."

"Oh shit!" Hermione cursed. She had forgotten about her dinner date with Kyle. She was not sure why but tears stream down her cheeks again at the thought of her forgetting about the date. She looked at herself in the mirror and did not like what she saw.

_I'm a mess_, she thought. But she could not just leave Kyle out the door. So she got up of bed and walked to the door. She took a deep breath and opened to see Kyle holding a nice bouquet of yellow roses.

"Hermione are you alright?" Kyle asked obviously concerned at the state that Hermione was in.

Hermione burst into fresh tears at the sound of Kyle's worried voice and she shook her head. "Please come in." She managed to say. As soon as Kyle stepped into the house, she took a step towards him and buried his face into his chest and sobbed hard. Kyle was surprised at her action but immediately had his arms circled around her shoulder and it soothed her. Kyle hugged her tightly.

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Harry hesitated when he reached Hermione's front door. On his way to her apartment, he had practiced, in his mind on how he should tell her how he feels about her. But as soon as his last steps reached the front door, he stalled. He was thinking of retreating back and just forget about the idea.

_It's now or never_, he thought.

He rapped his knuckles on the door and waited. The door opened but he was shock to see a guy standing in front of him. He stood there frozen and was not sure what to say.

"Oh…you have to be Harry Potter." The guy greeted. He held his hand out in a handshake and Harry took it firmly. "I'm Kyle…I'm not sure if Hermione have ever mention to you about me…Kyle Risis."

_Of course_, Harry thought. _The blond hair, blue eyes…_

"Of course. She did mention you." Harry said. They both nodded their head and stood in uncomfortable silence.

"You must be here to see Hermione."

"Yes, of course."

"She's not doing too well at the moment. She was…upset about something. I'm not sure what because she hasn't told me yet. She said not to let anyone in."

"Oh…can I talk to her though? I mean if she knows I'm here she will want me in."

"She's sleeping. I will tell her that you come by when she's awake."

Harry tried to peer over Kyle's shoulder and saw that the couch in the living room was empty so he deduced that she must be sleeping in her room.

"Alright then…please tell her that I was here."

"Of course." Kyle promised and closed the door. Harry walked away dejected. It was hard to believe that Hermione did not go to him if she was really disappointed with something. He was always the first person to know if she was upset. So why was this time different?

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Hermione made her way out to the living room as soon as Kyle closed the door.

"Thank you." She said.

"No problem." Kyle said and sighed. "I'll cook dinner."

"No please, you've done enough."

"Hermione, it's ok if you don't want to tell me why you're avoiding your bestfriend and why you broke down. But you have to at least accompany me for dinner. Your stomach was grumbling."

Hermione blushed and she could not deny that she was hungry. "This is so embarrassing. First I cried on you and then now you're making me dinner…"

"I'll do anything for the girl I like." Kyle said sheepishly. "So if you grant me your permission, can I please raid your kitchen?"

Hermione's lips curved into a smile. "I will let you only if you will let me help."

"Then let's start right now so we both won't starve." Kyle answered.


	7. Chapter 7

**a note from me:** Chapter 7 is the second last chapter of this fiction. I'm happy that this will end soon and I'm hoping to post the last chapter next week so that I can work on the story for Draco and Ginny. I'm moving on to a new job in 2 weeks so I won't be having as much time as I'm having now to work on a good story. The story on Draco and Ginny will probably come along a little later than planned.

So for now do enjoy this chapter and look forward to the last one coming next week. In this chapter I used words from Jason Mraz's 'If It Kills Me'. If you'd remember, it was his song that got me into naming this fanfic 'If It Kills Me'.

Leave reviews!!!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter.

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Hermione buried her head in her hands and sighed. She had just finish telling Ginny about what happened the previous day and it seemed like telling Ginny was not such a good idea because it brought a fresh set of pain into her heart. Her head felt heavy and she lay down back on Ginny's bed. Ginny joined in to lie beside her.

"Are you absolutely sure it was Emily?" Ginny asked for the second time.

"Who would have mistaken that long blonde hair?" Hermione said feeling quite frustrated.

"Well makes you think that you shouldn't have been so good to her that night didn't you?" Ginny chuckled to let Hermione know that she was joking. When Hermione remained quiet, Ginny turned to her. "Let me go talk to him."

"No Ginny! You can't…you shouldn't. It might make things worse. And he doesn't know that I saw him!"

"We'll find out if they are back together sooner or later so I rather we go ask him."

"But…"

"Hermione you can't just back away like this. I trust that Harry have an explanation to that kiss."

There was a knock on the door and they both got up from the bed immediately. Ginny walked out to the living room to open the door and Hermione was right behind her. Ron stood at the door and he looked relieved to see Hermione behind Ginny.

"There you are!" Ron exclaimed.

"Well hi Ron, please come in." Ginny said as Ron walked straight towards Hermione without acknowledging his sister. Ron took Hermione by the shoulders and gave her a brief hug. "Harry is looking for you!"

"Oh…well…"

"He's worried. I think I'll apparate back to his apartment and tell him I've found you."

"Wait!" But Hermione was too late. Ron was gone with a loud pop and Hermione could not do anything but stare at the empty space in front of her.

Hermione looked at Ginny in panic. "I don't want to see him yet. I'm not ready."

"Go some place where Harry won't be able to find you."

"Where?"

"Your parent's. Quick!"

Hermione was gone in a flash and a few seconds later, two loud pops was heard and Ron appeared after Harry.

"Alright! If you guys keep on intruding my private space I'll hex you!" Ginny yelled.

"Where is she?" Harry demanded.

"Not here." Ginny replied calmly.

"Oh come on Gin. Hermione!" Ron cried out.

"I said she's not here!"

"Ginny, I need to see her. Please…" Harry pleaded.

"You can see her after you tell me what's going on between you and Emily Cole." Ginny offered.

"What?" Harry looked at Ginny, confused.

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Hermione knocked on the door and her mother opened it a few seconds later.

"Oh Hermione dear, your father and I were just about to leave." Mrs Granger hugged her daughter tightly and kissed her forehead. "Oh it's so good to see you. What brings you here?"

"I'm taking a break from work so I thought I'll stay here for a few days." Hermione explained.

"Hello darling." Mr Granger greeted.

"Hi dad." They embraced warmly and like Mrs Granger, he kissed Hermione on her forehead. "Should have told us you're coming. We'd cancelled our plans. We are having an evening out with our friends, the Thomsons…would you like to come with us?" Mr Granger asked.

"No dad. I'm feeling a little tired so I'll just go to the guest room if that's alright." Hermione excused herself.

"Their son, Brad, would be joining us for dinner." Mr Granger added.

Hermione smiled at her dad and she knew what he was trying to do. He had constantly asked her to meet Brad Thomson, a successful doctor in his late 20s. "Dad you got to stop matchmaking me."

"It's not like you have nothing in common with him. You're both doctors and went to medical school." Mr Granger argued.

"We're not the same kind of doctor dad." Hermione reasoned. She looked at her mum, begging her to take her father away.

"Now dear, it's time to go. At this rate the Thomsons will not be willing to have dinner with us again. You screwed up last time by being late. Now come on!" Mrs Granger urged and pulled Mr Granger's hand and led him out the door.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and made her way to the guest room. She placed her bag on the foot of the bed and walked towards the window, peering through the blinds and saw that the sky was a light hue of violet. The leaves from the trees were moving alongside the breeze that was blowing east. She removed the scarf that was wrapped around her neck and hanged it on the clothes rack. She took a wool sweater and wore it over her long sleeve shirt. She dragged her feet out of the room, took the keys from the drawer beside the door and let herself out of the house. As she made her way to the garage, Hermione closed her eyes for a few seconds to enjoy the tingling sensation of the gentle wind.

She opened the door to the red Toyota Rush and start the engine as soon as she sat down on the driver's side of the car. Being a witch did not stop her from learning how to drive. It was her choice to have something muggle in her life. She had always looked forward to the time when she could finally drive and that she would not need her father to drive her to the places she wants to go. When she was six, she envied the way her father controls the wheel and vowed that she would get her license as soon as she could.

Hermione drove out slowly, a route she had driven so many times before formed in her head. Ten minutes later, she parked the car and made her way towards Surfers Paradise. A group of girls who were sun-tanning about 50 metres away from where Hermione was were laughing loudly at something they were reading in the magazine. Their bright coloured bikinis clinging on to their voluptuous body caught the eyes of a pair of guys who were walking down the beach, surfboards tucked under their arms. One of the guys called out to the girls and they were ignored and given scornful looks.

"Mind your own business!" One of them said. A giggle escaped Hermione's lips and she felt her heart lifted and warmed.

A car honked and Hermione heard her name being called. She turned around to look for the car and the person who called out to her and saw a pair of hands waving at her. She was delighted to see who it was and walked towards them. Daniel Kewell and Taylor Cahill got out of the car and she received a hug from each of them.

Daniel, with his shoulder length blonde hair and broad shoulders had always drawn the attention of women around him. His tall figure stood behind Taylor protectively. Taylor's long brown hair was now short and it reached just below her ear and the new haircut made her look much younger than her age. Her dark brown eyes sparkled in delight when she hugged Hermione.

"When did you arrive? You should have told us." Taylor exclaimed.

"It wasn't planned. I just had to get away from work so I decided to come here."

"About time! We haven't seen you since like what….Christmas?" Daniel said.

"You were lucky I could get time off during Christmas." Hermione noticed a sparkling jewel on one of Taylor's fingers and she gasped in surprise. "Wait a minute! No one told me about that!" She pointed to the diamond ring on Taylor's finger and Taylor blushed furiously.

"Daniel proposed just last week." She admitted.

"Wow! Congratulations!" Hermione hugged both of her friends. They talked for a little while and parted, promising that they would meet again before Hermione goes back to England. Hermione walked back down the beach feeling the softness of the sand that covered her toes every step she took.

Australia had been her parents' home for quite a number of years. After configuring their memories, Hermione brought Mr and Mrs Granger back to England but they had somehow felt a connection to the place that they had called home for almost a year and told Hermione that they wish to go back to Australia. They made Gold Coast their home and Hermione visited them whenever she could.

She found a spot to sit and buried her feet into the sand. She brought her chest forward and rested her chin on her knees. She stared at the rising and the falling of the waves in the Pacific Ocean and breathed in deeply. The smell of salt and sand made her feel relaxed and warm despite the chill wind. She thought about Ron and Lila, Draco and Ginny, Daniel and Taylor and even Michael and Natalie; the couples in her life. Then she thought about Harry and the waves of emotion that had flooded her head slowly washed over her head like the waves that were lapping the shore. The tears that were threatening to spill over her eyes were stronger than her and they dropped slowly down her cheeks as if celebrating that they had won over Hermione's will.

Her heart ached for Harry because she missed him. This was the first time they spend so many days apart not due to work duties but due to something else, and to Hermione's surprise that broke her heart into many pieces.

"I miss you Harry." She whispered.

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"I swear Ginny! I did not kiss her back." Harry explained. "So can you please tell me where she is so that I can see her?"

Ginny looked at Harry and she believed every word that he had said. "So Emily is gone right?"

Harry nodded his head. "I'm sure she is. She said that I will not hear from her again." He looked up and met Ginny's eyes.

"Harry why don't you just tell Gin. Maybe she could help." Ron suggested.

"There's no need to. I already know."

"WHAT?!" Harry and Ron asked Ginny at the same time.

"You love her don't you?" Ginny confirmed. Harry looked from Ron to Ginny and back to Ron.

"I swear I didn't tell her mate. I promised you I won't." Ron held up both his hands assuring Harry that he had nothing to do with the fact that she knew.

"It wasn't him Harry." Ron looked at his sister appreciatively. "I always knew.

Harry sighed. "Gin you have to tell me where she is. I wanted to tell her last night but that wighead was in her house."

"You mean Kyle?"

"Yes, I guess that's his name. He was all high just because Hermione don't want any visitors but he is a visitor isn't he so why was he allowed in her apartment and me, her bestfriend was not allowed in." Harry fumed.

"You can't blame her. She saw you kissing Emily!" Ginny defended Hermione.

"For the last time Ginny, I DID NOT kiss Emily. She came on to me and I pushed her away!"

"Alright, alright!" Harry realised that Ginny must be irritated with him as he was with her. "Harry, why don't you go home first? She's not ready to see you. When she is she'll come back." Ginny said softly, comforting Harry so that he would calm down.

Harry remained quiet and Ginny looked at her brother for help. "She's right Harry. We all know that Hermione could be stubborn when she wants to be. She will come back. She just needs time."

"You could harbour on the fact that she's doing this because she loves you Harry. If she doesn't care she won't be doing all of these."

"Did she tell you that? She told you that she love me?" Harry turned to Ginny and looked at her in the eye when he said those words.

Ginny nodded her head. "More than a friend would have."

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Harry paced the length of his living room up and down for the twelfth time. He had found out from Ginny that Hermione was at her parent's and when he was told this piece of information, he was not quite sure what to do with it.

"_Australia?"_

"_Yes Harry. Australia." Ginny confirmed._

"_Australia Gin? That's so many miles away from here!"_

"_It's not like you've never been there before. All of us been there at least once."_

"_Well yeah…I know that." Harry scowled at her. "Fine, I'll go to Australia." He conceded._

Harry had made his decision but what was stalling him was what to say when he reaches Australia. He was sure Hermione was still wondering if he had really kissed Emily. That thought made him shudder and he stopped pacing and picked his bag up. He got out the door and made his way to the Ministry of Magic. Wizards and Witches are not allowed to apparate internationally without a pass from the Ministry and those who wish to apparate internationally would have to do so within the compound of the Ministry. They would apparate to the country's Ministry of Magic where their identity would be verified.

Harry passed through the verification on both ends smoothly and he was in Australia in one hour. As the Ministry of Magic of Australia is located in Brisbane, he still had to make another hour journey to Gold Coast where Hermione was. He rented a car as soon as he had step out of the Wizarding circle. He stepped into the street of Brisbane's Metropolitan Area which was buzzing with muggle activities. Men were in their suits and ties and the women were in their high heels and pencil skirts. They were all walking in all directions, cahtting with each other.

As he drove down towards Gold Coast, his heart pumped furiously anticipating his meet with Hermione. He was nervous. However he could not wait to see Hermione. He wanted to see the look on her face when he reaches the doorsteps of the Granger. He looked forward to what she would have to say. He could not wait to tell her that he had nothing to do with Emily and that the person that he wants to be with is her and only her. He wanted to show her how much she meant to him.

He was glad when Ginny told him that there was nothing going on between Kyle and Hermione. Hermione had honestly informed Kyle on the night that Harry had came that she would want to be only friends with him. He had high hopes that things would be better and that they would finally be together and he just needed to have the Gryffindor courage out of him and tell her he love her.

He drove on a street where he knew the house was and spotted the woman he loved on the front steps to the door in the arms of another guy. Hermione had her eyes closed and they guy had his arms around her waist. He stopped the car and got out of it slowly. He felt like his heart was slowing down to a stop.

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Three days passed by quite slowly and Hermione wished that it could come to a stop. She packed her clothes into her bag, getting ready to go back to England. She decided to take a plane back home so that it could delay the time she would have to face reality. Apparating would force her to overcome her fears too fast and she did not think she could handle that at the moment. It was 2PM and a drive to the Brisbane airport would take at least one hour. Her flight was scheduled at 7PM and she still had plenty of time to think about whether she should just face Harry and deal with it. She wondered what Harry was thinking about.

"Hermione." Mrs Granger peered behind the door and looked at her daughter. "Someone's here to see you."

"Who is it?" Hermione asked curiously.

"It's a surprise." Mrs Granger said mischievously. Hermione's eyebrow furrowed in thought. Hermione got up from the floor and walked out of the room.

"Tim!" Hermione shrieked. She looked at the tall man who was standing just a few feet away from her and could not believe what she was seeing. She had not seen him for at least five years. She ran to him and jumped into his opened arms and Tim chuckled at the sight of her. His strong arms wrapped around Hermione's waist tightly.

"It's been too long." Tim murmured into Hermione's hair.

"Yes, it's been too long."

Hermione opened her eyes and another surprise came into view. Harry was standing on the side of a black car, his gaze focused on her. She let go of Tim and Harry walked up towards her. Tim turned around to see who Hermione had her eyes on and spotted Harry. He casually placed his right arm around Hermione's shoulder.

"Hi Harry. What are you doing here?" Hermione asked.

"I need to see you." Harry replied. He looked at Tim skeptically and turned to Hermione. "Who is he?"

Tim laughed loudly and Hermione could not help herself but laugh along with Tim. "Dude, I'm Tim Granger…Hermione's cousin." He offered when Harry looked confised. "And that's my wife." He added, pointing to a lady who was standing behind Harry.

"Mary!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly.

"Oh my gosh Hermione! It's been too long."

"You're pregnant!"

"Yes I am." Mary said proudly showing of her belly. "Six months!"

"Let's go inside honey. Hermione's friend needs to see her." Tim said. He bent his head towards Hermione and whispered in her ear. "Loose him up will ya?"

"Oh shut up Tim!" Hermione looked at Harry and gave him a smile. "Tim can be a jerk sometimes."

Harry smirked. "I'm sorry I was you know…patronizing?" Harry tried to explain himself.

"Harry don't worry about it. Tim doesn't care."

Harry nodded his head. "Can we talk for a while?"

"Of course." Hermione went down the steps, away from the door and closed it behind her. They sat on the steps, both keeping mum.

"Hermione, about that night, I didn't kiss Emily." Harry started. Hermione looked at Harry and was surprised that he did not waste his time and got straight to the point. "I wouldn't. I got over her and I'm sure you know that."

"Harry I already know. Ginny has told me everything."

"But…how?"

"She emailed me, telling me everything and that you might be coming here."

"She emailed you?" Harry asked, amazed.

"She's more receptive to muggle technology than Ron would ever be." Hermione explained.

"Right…"

"And about Kyle, I've told him that I couldn't be more than friends with him. He's devastated. Told me that he will never give up." Hermione clarified.

"So it's all clear now?" Harry asked.

"Looks like it is."

"There's one thing that I haven't made clear though."

"What is it?" Hermione smiled at Harry, her heart suddenly fluttering with excitement.

"Hermione, I love you. I am in love with you, with every soul, every strength and every being in me…I'm totally in love with you." Harry declared.

Hermione felt tears welling up in her eyes. Those were the words that she had longed to hear ever since she discovered her feelings for Harry. Now that Harry had said those words, she felt very happy.

"Hermione why are you crying?" Harry looked worried. Hermione laughed.

"These are tears of happiness you silly! I love you too! And I miss you so much." Hermione said. Harry pulled Hermione into a hug. When they parted, Harry cupped her face into his hands and planted a soft kiss on her lips. Hermione eagerly kissed Harry back and she felt like there was nothing more in this world that could make her smile widely as this. The kiss was tender and nothing like the kiss she had with Kyle.

"You know I keep hoping that you'll figure me out...that something might have give away and you realised that I am in love with you." Harry said.

"I had some help from Ginny. If it wasn't for her...maybe I'll never know." Hermione admitted.

"I have been wanting you as more than a friend for so long Hermione. After all that we've both been through together it was hard for me to just come right to you and tell you about my feelings. I'm not sure why...maybe I was scared that I might be wrong about it. But I'm very sure now." Harry explained.

"I'm glad you are...because I'm sure about this too. About us."

Harry leaned in for another kiss. Hermione wished to be in this position forever. She love Harry so much and would love nothing but being around him forever.

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"So you're _the_ Harry Potter?"

Harry looked at Tim with his brows furrowed, thinking about what he meant by those words. Had Hermione ever mentioned him to Tim? Did she mentioned him as her best friend?

Tim moved one step closer to Harry. "Hermione told me about the you know...being a witch thing and apparently you're the greatest wizard and all that."

Harry nodded his head. "Right...and you beleive her?"

"Yes of course. So you can you know let your guard down a bit. You've been tensed." Tim said.

"Of course...of course."

"And you know, she also told me about how you're the best friend she's ever had. But what she didn't tell me is that you can kiss best friends like how you both kissed."

Harry chuckled. "Well yeah about that...I guess we're something else now."

"Yeah...yeah." Tim looked at Harry and patted his back. "She's a great woman...take care of her. She told me that she is a very lucky woman to have you in her life."

"I think I'm the lucky one. I'm lucky to have met her in my life." Harry concluded and realised that he has someone to share his life with now and he knew that he would not be disappointed with Hermione. He had the best girl with him now and he wants her with him forever.


	8. Chapter 8

**a note from me**: Here it is, the last chapter! I finished this in a much quicker time than my previous two fanfiction but that's because they consist of more than 10 chapters! I know I said that it may be posted next week but I can hardly wait for Monday to arrive so I posted it tonight (it's 830PM in Singapore!).

I have to admit and say that I had a difficulty finishing this one. Probably because my head was already itching to start on the fanfiction for Draco and Ginny. So stay tuned because I've actually drafted the first chapter and have named the fiction.

So enjoy reading this one and I hope that everyone who reads it will leave some comments or review because it's the last chapter people so please give me some comments on what you think about it and on which areas should I improve on.

Thank you to those who have been reading this since Chapter 1 was first published about two months back.

ENJOY!!!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

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The smell of spices was nothing like Hermione had imagined. The mixture of turmeric, saffron, oregano, curry, and so many more infused itself into Hermione and she felt like she was in an imaginary world that exists only in her dreams. The Spice Bazaar was alive with beautiful colours and lights. Men were tending to their shops and some were singing in Turkish to attract people into their shops.

"Aah, beautiful couple." A man approached Harry and Hermione. "Jewels for the lady sir? A bracelet maybe?"

Hermione looked at Harry and he shrugged.

"Why not? Pick one." He said.

"That one." Hermione said, pointing to a bracelet made with red and white beads.

"Two liras." The man said and Harry paid him and clasped the bracelet on Hermione's wrist.

Harry placed his right arm around her shoulders and Hermione loves it when she was close to him like this. They had just finished a meal of delicious Turkish kebab. The chicken was succulent, marinated with a sweet and spicy sauce. Ron and Lila were right in front of them and Lila was talking animatedly about the Grand Bazaar that they had visited earlier. Ron looked at her with so much love in his eyes it was impossible to miss.

They made their way towards the Bosphorus River and Hermione had anticipated the cruise that was much talked about by the locals. The boat sails up and down the river which lies between the Asia and Europe side of Istanbul. She was told to expect majestic mosques, charming castles and hotels where the rich and famous lives in when they drop by Istanbul.

"Has Ginny told you the good news?" She asked Harry.

"Yes she did."

"I'm happy for her…I think this is what she has been waiting for."

"How is Ron handling it?" Harry asked.

"Oh he's ok. I think he does not mind now like he does before. I'm sure he wants her to be happy and she is happy now."

As soon as they got on to the boat Hermione sat cozily beside Harry and placed her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his. She liked the way he smells; it was masculine and the smell of his aftershave was lingering on his cheek. She kissed his left cheek and breathed in the delicious smell of him. He blushed at the touch of her lips.

Ten minutes into the cruise, she heard Ron called her name. Lila was waiving at her, asking her to join her in a picture that Ron would like to take. She walked slowly up to Lila and they both placed their arms on each other's shoulders. Ron took a couple more with different poses and they were both having fun with the shots.

Lila slowly walked back to her seat and Hermione remained at the back of the boat where they were taking pictures. The breeze was blowing her hair and her face and she enjoyed the cool feeling it brought her. She closed her eyes and breathed in the salty air. She felt so happy and she knew the reason why.

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Harry looked at Hermione. The wind was blowing her hair back and he loved the way she looked now. She looked at ease, peaceful and she seemed happy. A small smile curved on her lips and his lips matched hers. He got up from his seat and walked towards her.

"I love you." He said when he was right behind her. She turned around looking a little puzzled. "What? Who do you think it was?" He teased.

She giggled and pulled him closer. "Déjà vu." She said. "I think I might have dreamed about this before. Just that when I heard those words in my dreams I turned around and saw no one. But today I saw you and you have no idea how happy this made me feel Harry. I swear I have butterflies in my stomach now."

Harry smiled at her and leaned in to kiss her on her lips. She smiled into the kiss and deepened it urgently. Harry felt intoxicated by her touch as her fingers raked into his hair. He cupped her face and softly grazed his tongue on her lips seeking entrance. Their tongues met in a firing kiss. They parted soon after and her face was flushed and she looked so pretty when blood rushed into her cheeks that way. He rubbed his thumbs on her cheeks and she leaned into his touch. He let her bury her face into his chest and his hold on her waist tightened into a sweet embrace.

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Two months later

"Mr Lyle, this is the perfect antidote for the spell that hit you. Or do you want to risk losing your limbs?" Hermione asked. She looked at the weary old man who was nothing but stubborn.

"Fine. I'll take it." He snatched the small bottle of potion that Hermione held in front of him. Hermione smirked at him knowing that he had no choice but to listen to what she says. He was only arguing for arguement sake and Hermione pitied him. He was now alone in this world after losing his wife last year. She passed away on an August day and Hermione had gone to the funeral.

She spent a few more minutes writing out a few reports and called for Michelle to hand over to the boss. "You can leave after that." Hermione told her.

"Thanks! I have a date tonight." Michelle said sheepishly.

Hermione wrote one last report and after she was done, she put it aside. She took off her white coat and hanged it on the rack. She took her handbag and let herself out the door. She was surprised to see Harry waiting for her. She jumped into his opened arms and they kissed passionately right there.

"Oh, get a room." Michelle teased. "See you tomorrow Hermione."

They both had ignored whatever Michelle had said and were still lip-locked, lost in the moment. Harry let go first and Hermione sighed into his embrace.

"Hungry?" Harry asked.

"Ravenous!" Hermione replied.

They both walked out of St Mungo's and made their way to Harry's apartment, chatting animatedly along the way. Harry was telling her about the busy training scheduled that was already planned out for the upcoming season.

"There will be a friendly against a Spanish team this weekend. You're all invited of course. Why don't you ask Michelle along? I heard that she has never gotten any ticket to a Quidditch match."

"That's nice of you. I'll tell her tomorrow. She'll be thrilled!"

As soon as they reached Harry's apartment, he heated the roasted chicken that he had prepared earlier while Hermione helped him with the stew. When her stomach growled loudly, they both laughed and quickly settled down for dinner.

"That was awesome Harry."

"Thank you." He said and kissed his girlfriend lightly on her lips. "I have a surprise actually."

"What surprise?" Hermione asked sitting upright from her seat.

"Come here." He said and took her hand and led her out to the balcony.

The sky was filled with a blanket of stars that were shining brightly. There was no moon that night. They stood face to face and Harry slowly took out the box that he had been hiding in his pocket. In it was a ring encrusted with rubies and emeralds and it sparkled like the stars.

"It's my mother's. Dad gave it to her when he proposed."

Hermione gasped and looked at Harry. "It's gorgeous."

"I found it in the vault and Remus confirmed that this was their engagement ring…so now I want to slip this into your finger. Hermione, will you marry me and spend the rest of your life with me?"

Hermione already had tears in her eyes and a drop trickled down her left cheek. She wiped it away with the back of her hand. "Yes Harry, of course I'll marry you. You're the love of my life."

Harry took her hand and slipped it into her finger. He then brought his lips to her hand and kissed it gently. "I love you Hermione."

"I love you Harry. Always had, always will…forever."

He smiled at his fiancé and captured her lips with his. Hermione pulled him away from the balcony and he had an idea on where she wanted to head. They made love twice that night and it was sensual and passionate. When he woke up in the morning, Harry looked at Hermione who was sleeping soundly beside him. Seven years ago he had hoped to be happy and have the best in life and now he has; he has the best and more.

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REVIEWS!!!


	9. A Note From The Author

Hi all,

I noticed that some of you just or might still have this story on alert. Please be informed that I completed this story about three weeks ago and am now posting "Don't Let Me Fall" which is Draco and Ginny's story. As all (I hope) of you know, I've revealed in the previous few chapters that there will be a story about Draco and Ginny and it will somehow have a link to "If It Kills Me".

So be sure to start reading "Don't Let Me Fall". I will post the second chapter in a few days.

Thanks!


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